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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Measuring Carbon-based Contaminant Mineralization Using Combined CO2 Flux and Radiocarbon Analyses
Published on: October 21, 2016
[Uptake 14CO2 from air and accumulation of 14C in Chinese cabbage]
1Institute of Science, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China. jjshi61@sohu.com
Abstract:
Uptake 14CO2 from air and accumulation of 14C in the Chinese cabbage were studied by using the isotope-tracer techniques in order to get a better understanding of the environmental behavior of 14CO. The results show that the 14CO2, which was uptaken from the air by the leaf photosynthesis, would be sent to the other part of the Chinese cabbage and form a accumulating trend. The specific activity of 14C in every tissue increases linearly with time, and the increasing rate is in the range of 95.3 - 270.2 Bq/(g x d). The order of rate in tissues is as below: cabbage heart > leaf blade > leaf stalk > basal plate > root. The Chinese cabbage has an intensive concentration of 14CO2, and the concentration factor values increase rapidly with time. The concentration factor values in the cabbage heart reach the highest level (156.4 in 48 days) and following with the leaf blade (135.6 in 48 days). The specific activity in each part of the Chinese cabbage also increases with the introduction times of the 14CO2. Regression analysis has proved that the specific activity (C) of every part is positively correlated to the introducing times (N). Owing to its high accumulation of 14CO2, Chinese cabbage can be used as the indicator plant in the supervisor of 14CO2 air pollution.
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