30 layers of the funnel show only ost 37 and sp??5 in the deenest _ layer, Buried Organic Layers The organic matter in buried hocizons may become important in the vertical distribution of radilonuclides in the snils. No detectable gamma-emitters were found in buried horizons during the period 1958-1961. In September 1963 a core was taken through a buried horizon at 14 inches in old soil. Radioautographs of sections of the core show that a small amount of radioactivity has accumulated in the buried horizons The diffuse distribution ‘ of the radioactivity in this case indicates that there is adsorption of the radionuclides from solution as water percolates through the soils, although the possibility of translocation by plants cannot be ruled out. csi 3? and naturally occurring ,0 were the only radionuclides present in the buried horizon. The accumulation of es! 37 in the buried horizons is of particular significance in terms of plant-soil relationships, because a proliferation of roots is often found in the buried 13 horizons and és??’ is the principal fallout radionuclide taken up by atoll plants. Roots Roots, which contain est3? and sr?°, in most instances have higher levels of radioactivity than the surrounding soil except near the soil surface (Fig. 12). The influence of poplar roots on redistribution in a continental soil has been well demonstrated