Chernobyl and St helens reborn‏

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Ive just watched two wonderful docs on the Eden channel the first about the natural history and recovery of the Chernobyl area. Some interesting consequences revealed in research of the area inside the exclusion zone, of main interest to the forum was the impact of Gamma radiation and cromozone damage to birch and pine. In the pines with a larger more complex chromozone form deviations in growth (mutations) are obvious, but in the more limited and sparse chromozone profile of birch the damage is nill! It was wonderful seeing the very biodiverse fauna of the area since man left.

What i found most interesting is that strontium mimmicks calcium and is taken up by some plants more than others as it is in the body of animals within the bones as it appears as calcium to the body. caesium also mimmicks potassium and again occupies plants and body parts where these nutrients would normally be. but in the wild horses the extra chromozones appear to be doing a similar thing as found in the mice, domestic horses do not have the extra chromozones.

But the really beutiful discovery at chernobyl was the discovery that the mice which should have seen the most pronounced effects given the short lives (many generations) had by the very nature of the background radiation had their immune defence boosted and scavenging of free radicals doubled, enabling them to live perfectly happy healthy lives in the gamma radiation.

Chernobyl has overturned a lot of old theories, and provided a great resource for study, and a sanctuary for fauna that now resembles what wildlife was present centuries ago.

25 years since Chernobyl, and nature has not just reclaimed the land, but blossomed.

Then mount St Helens, 30 years on, and thanks to the pocket goffer and the prairie lupin life has also reclaimed a baron wasteland not dissimilar to the land surrounding Chernobyl.

If you get time and opportunity do look out for these as repeats if you missed them, they really did restore my faith in nature to bounce back from the very worst of scenarios.

There where even a couple of arboriculturaly significant bits worthy if for nothing else! especialy the creation of a deadwood habitat in the Ukraine and its biodiversity potential.

enjoy.

[arbmark]

great post hamadryad.

Amazing and reassuring how nature can recover after human intellectual arrogance causes colossal damage even if the damage is on a undermining quantum level. I just hope we never take it past the point of no return whatever happens to us. Could we nuke the whole planet to the point that life would have to start again? Probably! Will try and watch that one.

But then since the planet will die one day when the sun burns out, mankind going to have to flee the planet and hit the cosmos in search of a new home. I suppose this justifies the dabbling in dangerous technologies maybe. Personally i'd take a few choice species and leave most of mankind behind!