Condition of the Soil Fauna near the Epicenter of an Underground Nuclear Explosion in the Northern Urals

Abstract

Radioactive contamination affects soil organisms and causes profound structural rearrangements in soil zoocenoses, which are manifested in the decreased species diversity of invertebrate communities and low relative abundance of large soil invertebrates. However, these communities gradually recover their initial structure. The soil biota near the epicenter of an underground nuclear explosion performed 30 years ago in Perm oblast has been studied to reveal specific structural features of the soil macro-and microfauna. Its structural diversity is considered with regard to such components as species (taxonomic) composition, the structure of dominance, and the ratio of ecological and trophic groups.

The effects of modern war and military activities on biodiversity and the environment

“…However, over a more chronic duration, these impacts are likely to be minimal as populations and diversity could recover through dispersal to the area as well as contributions from surviving organisms. Indeed, this has been observed in a number of plant (Palumbo 1962;Shields and Wells 1962;Shields et al 1963;Beatley 1966;Fosberg 1985;Hunter 1991Hunter , 1992 and animal (Jorgensen and Hayward 1965;O'Farrell 1984;Hunter 1992;Wills 2001;Kolesnikova et al 2005;Pinca et al 2005;Planes et al 2005;Richards et al 2008;Houk and Musburger 2013) communities from a diversity of testing site environments. In some instances, the exclusion of human activity from test sites has been quite beneficial to the recovery and prosperity of organisms found in these areas, as in the case of the atolls of the Marshall Islands (see Fig.…”

Radiological investigations at the “Taiga” nuclear explosion site: Site description and in situ measurements

“…A biologically relevant surface water contamination in the "Taiga" radionuclide anomaly was shown by means of Allium schoenoprasum anaphaseetelophase chromosome aberration assay (Evseeva et al, 2005). The "Taiga" site has also been used for ecological observations on the reparation of biosystems after nuclear explosion (Evseeva et al, 2005;Kolesnikova et al, 2005). It should be noted that the local citizens and tourists frequently visit the site for collecting wild mushrooms and berries.…”