[ RadSafe ] Article: Chernobyl ecosystems 'remarkably healthy'

[Tom Mohaupt]

The rebound of nature to change that Andy describes is what one would 
expect under "normal" conditions. The resilience of Chernobyl's biota 
shows that it is not different than what is "normally" expected. This to 
me is an extremely important point.
Tom

A Karam wrote:

>There are two different effects at work, I think.
>
>Life colonizes new (or newly habitable) areas fairly rapidly.  We see
>this on new volcanic islands, in the aftermath of Mt. St. Helens, on
>rock newly uncovered by glaciers, and elsewhere. Spores and bacteria
>drift in on the wind, seeds wash up from the sea, other seeds are
>dropped in the excrement of birds flying overhead, and so forth.  This
>has been amply documented in the scientific literature.
>
>Chernobyl and the surrounding area is another phenomenon, I would think
>- more comparable to the DMZ between North and South Korea.  The
>radiation doses in most of the area around Chernobyl were (and are) not
>high enough to be fatal.  Moving people out of the area removes one of
>the most important forces in reducing biodiversity - people.  No farming
>means that former farm fields begin to revert to grassland and forest,
>supporting a higher diversity of plants and the animals that use them
>for food or shelter.  Moving people, pets, farm animals, etc. from an
>area opens that area up for more diversity because the few animal
>species (cow, dog, cat, goat, sheep, etc.) are replaced by a larger
>number of wild animals while the small number of plant species (wheat,
>corn, grass, etc.) are joined by a larger number of wild plants that
>were formerly considered weeds and competitive plants.
>
>So - increased biodiversity is exactly what we should expect when people
>leave an area.
>
>Andy
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On
>Behalf Of Stabin, Michael
>
>  
>
>>Researchers who have surveyed the land around the old nuclear power
>>    
>>
>plant in present-day Ukraine say that biodiversity is actually higher
>than before the disaster.
>
>Wasn't this also the case around Mt. St. Helen's? Sort of an
>environmental adaptive response?
>
>
>Mike
>
>Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP
>Assistant Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences Department of
>Radiology and Radiological Sciences Vanderbilt University
>1161 21st Avenue South
>Nashville, TN 37232-2675
>Phone (615) 343-0068
>Fax   (615) 322-3764
>Pager (615) 835-5153
>e-mail     michael.g.stabin at vanderbilt.edu 
>internet   www.doseinfo-radar.com
>_______________________________________________
>You are currently subscribed to the RadSafe mailing list
>
>Before posting a message to RadSafe be sure to have read and understood the RadSafe rules. These can be found at: http://radlab.nl/radsafe/radsaferules.html
>
>For information on how to subscribe or unsubscribe and other settings visit: http://radlab.nl/radsafe/
>  
>

-- 
Thomas Mohaupt, M.S., CHP
Radiation Safety Officer
Wright State University
937-775-2169
tom.mohaupt at wright.edu