Cosmogenic radionuclide 7Be concentration in seven species of lichens

In this work accumulation of cosmogenic radionuclide 7Be in seven species of lichens were determined using HPGe detectors in autumn season. Ramsar city which is located in the north of Iran as one of high level natural radiation areas in the world was considered. Lichen species represented good potential in accumulation of 7Be radionuclide. The foliose species of Xanthoria parietina with the highest activity concentration value of 112.8±1.8 Bq kg-1 was introduced as bioindicator for accumulation of 7Be radionuclide. Cladonia rangiformis species has got minimum concentration of 64.5±0.8 Bq kg-1. Also from thallus morphology viewpoint, results showed that 7Be accumulation in foliose species is higher than fruticose and crustose lichens species. Also there was relatively large positive correlation between 7Be and 226Ra activity concentrations in lichens species.

Keywords:

Lichen , Beryllium-7 , Bioindicator , HPGe detector , Activity concentration