TRAVARIS

Transfer of long-lived radionuclides from the vadose Zone into the rhizosphere and their uptake into plants under consideration of microbiological processes - Subproject A: Influence of variable hydraulic conditions, root exsudates and natural nanoparticulate phases on the partitioning of radionuclides/homologues during transport in (sub)soil systems in the causal network soil-plant

Funding body + grant number: PT GRS, 15S9437A

Duration: 01.11.2022 to 31.10.2025

Project leader: Prof. Thorsten Schäfer de

Person in charge: Marcus Böhm, Anna Kogiomtzidis

Cooperation partners: 

Institute für Radioecology and Radiation Protection (Leibniz University Hannover), Institute of Cell Biology and Biophysics (Leibniz University Hannover), Institute for Resource Ecology (Helmholz Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf), Institute of Environmental Physics (University Bremen), Öko-Institut e.V. Darmstadt

Link to the larger project webpage (if existing): work in progress..

Description:

For the long-term prediction of possible developments of a repository system for radioactive waste and possible release scenarios of long-lived radionuclides, the key processes playing a role in the transport via the water-soil path to crops and thus to the human food chain must be known. The overall goal of the joint project TRAVARIS is to transfer the results of research on the transport and transfer of radionuclides in the soil-plant system from the point of view of accumulation and re-mobilization processes at the microscale into practical application in macro-scale radio-ecological models of the biosphere. In particular, if the relevant biogeochemical processes are known, it is possible to calculate the availability of plants in the root zone, and the effects of microbial activity can also be recorded if the corresponding thermodynamic data are available. Due to the possibility of the simultaneous calculation of nuclide speciation (and thus the plant-available fraction) and partitioning, this can contribute to a better understanding of the transfer of radionuclides from the soil to the plant and therefore reduces uncertainties in these estimations.

Preliminary results: 

Günther, A. L. (2023): Interaction between illite, organic matter and selenite in two-phase systems - Preparation and characterization of the individual components. Projectmodule, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.

Windrich, A. L. (2024): Änderung der physikochemischen Parameter und Ausscheidung von DOC im initialen Wachstum der Buschbohne Phaseolus vulgaris var. nanus „Saxa“ in Kontakt mit unterschiedlichen Selenkonzentrationen. Projectmodule, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.