Correlations between potassium, rubidium and cesium (133Cs and 137Cs) in sporocarps of Suillus variegatus in a Swedish boreal forest

An analysis of sporocarps of ectomycorrhizal fungi Suillus variegatus assessed whether cesium (Cs-133 and Cs-137) uptake was correlated with potassium (K) or rubidium (Rb) uptake. The question was whether intraspecific correlations of Rb, K and Cs-133 mass concentrations with Cs-137 activity concentrations in sporocarps were higher within, rather than among, different fungal species, and if genotypic origin of sporocarps within a population affected uptake and correlation. Sporocarps (n = 51) from a Swedish forest population affected by the fallout after the Chernobyl accident were studied. The concentrations were 31.9 +/- 6.79 g kg(-1) for K (mean +/- SD, dwt), 0.40 +/- 0.09 g kg(-1) for Rb, 8.7 +/- 4.36 mg kg(-1) for Cs-133 and 63.7 +/- 24.2 kBq kg(-1), for Cs-137. The mass concentrations of Cs-133 correlated with Cs-137 activity concentrations (r = 0.61). There was correlation between both Cs-133 concentrations (r = 0.75) and Cs-137 activity concentrations (r = 0.44) and Rb, but the Cs-137/Cs-133 isotopic ratio negatively correlated with Rb concentration. Concentrations of K and Rb were weakly correlated (r = 0.51). The Cs-133 mass concentrations, Cs-137 activity concentrations and Cs-137/Cs-133 isotopic ratios did not correlate with K concentrations. No differences between, within or, among genotypes in S. variegatus were found. This suggested the relationships between K, Rb, Cs-133 and Cs-137 in sporocarps of S. variegatus is similar to other fungal species. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.