Chernobyl Study: Plants, Trees Decomposing At Slow Rate; Animals, Birds Suffering From After Effects
Although it has been nearly three decades since the horrifying and disastrous nuclear explosion at Chernobyl, researchers have noticed that the dead trees and plants in the area have decomposed at a much slower rate than normal, according to a study in the journal Oecologia.
"We were stepping over all these dead trees on the ground that had been killed by the initial blast," said Tim Mousseau, who serves as a professor of biology at the University of South Carolina. "Years later, these tree trunks were in pretty good shape. If a tree had fallen in my backyard, it would be sawdust in 10 years or so."
"Apart from a few ants, the dead tree trunks were largely unscathed when we first encountered them," Mousseau said to Smithsonian.
In addition to the unusual pattern of decomposition among the dead plants and wildlife that was wiped out in the explosion, the leftover radiation still has an effect on the organisms that are currently alive today. According to Rachel Nuwer, who wrote about this in an article for Smithsonian, there are now fewer spiders and insects than there used to be and birds have unusually small brains. Nuwer also said that high levels of radiation affect game animals.
Another alarming after-effect of the explosion, which was in 1986, has been the elimination of microbes and fungi as well as the insects, because they are all key components of the recycling of organic matter, according to Nuwer. This could apparently have a greater effect on the ecosystem due to the ripple effect that could follow.
What do you think about the way things have unfolded at Chernobyl? Is this what we should expect after such a catastrophe or do you think people did not really see this coming? Feel free to go ahead and let us know what you think in the comments section located down below.
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!