This open access book presents the findings from on-site research into radioactive cesium
contamination in various agricultural systems affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power
Plant accident in March 2011. This fourth volume in the series reports on studies undertaken at
contaminated sites such as farmland and forests focusing on soil water mountain
agricultural products and animals. It also provides additional data collected in the
subsequent years to show how the radioactivity levels in agricultural products and their
growing environments have changed with time and the route by which radioactive materials
entered agricultural products as well as their movement between different components (e.g.
soil water and trees) within an environmental system (e.g. forests). The book covers various
topics including radioactivity testing of food products decontamination trials for rice and
livestock production the state of contamination in trees mushrooms and timber the dynamics
of radioactivity distribution in paddy fields and upland forests damage incurred by the
forestry and fishery industries and the change in consumers' attitudes. In the series of this
book a real-time radioisotope imaging system has been introduced a pioneering technique to
visualize the movement of cesium in soil and in plants. This is the only book to provide
systematic data on the actual change of radioactivity which is of great value to all
researchers who wish to understand the effect of radioactive fallout on agriculture. In
addition it helps the general public better understand radio-contamination issues in the
environment. The project is ongoing the research groups from the Graduate School of
Agricultural and Life Sciences of The University of Tokyo continue their work in the field
further to evaluate the long-term effects of the Fukushima accident.
