Uptake of Strontium by Pasture Plants and its Possible Significance in Relation to the Fall-out of Strontium-90

Abstract

Vose and Koontz¹ have lately compared the absorption of strontium-90 and calcium by six species of clover and six species of grass grown in pots containing three contrasting soil types. Their results support the conclusion, previously advanced on less complete results², that plant species differ little in the manner in which they distinguish between strontium-90 and calcium. It is well known that the calcium content of clovers is usually higher than that of grasses. Thus, as Vose and Koontz have noted, the absorption of strontium-90 from uniformly contaminated soil will lead to higher concentrations of strontium-90 per unit weight of tissue in clovers than in grasses.