Long‐term effects of rewilding on species composition: 22 years of raptor monitoring in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Abstract

Large-scale rewilding has been proposed as an effective method to combat the global biodiversity crisis, although there is a lack of data to support this. Rewilding generally refers to a process that allows nature to recover by reducing human interference, without the predefined end-goal that more traditional restoration projects usually have. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) is perhaps the most famous example of passive rewilding (rewilding with little or no management), but until now, most research has focussed on the impact of radiation on wildlife rather than rewilding. Here, we analyse species composition change of raptors in the Belarusian CEZ over a twenty-two year period, starting twelve years after the accident, alongside national raptor monitoring data. Generalist and farmland-associated mesopredators, super-abundant at the beginning of our study, strongly declined, as open habitats (former agricultural land) rewetted or became overgrown. Increase in waterlogged areas saw wetland specialists increase in abundance, including two species locally extinct from the area before the accident: Greater Spotted Eagle (Endangered in Europe) and White-tailed Eagle. Greater Spotted Eagles are an indicator of wetland habitat quality, and whilst declining throughout Europe in recent decades, they have increased from zero to at least thirteen pairs, over the whole Belarusian CEZ. Our research is evidence that rewilding could be an effective way of restoring species and species interactions found in near-natural habitats, and if human interferences in ecological processes are reduced, a priori restoration goals and continued management are not always necessary to conserve threatened species.

Ecological restoration and rewilding: two approaches with complementary goals?

“…In other cases, pollution may be so intense that letting nature recover by itself is the only solution. The establishment of the Chernobyl exclusion zone after the explosion of a nuclear reactor in 1986 has led to space for nature, and the restoration of threatened species, such as the white‐tailed eagle ( Haliaeetus albicilla ; Linnaeus, 1758) and the greater spotted eagle ( Aquila clanga ; Pallas, 1811), and species interactions, such as carrion availability from wolf predation for raptors or top‐down control by mesopredators (Dombrovski, Zhurauliou & Ashton‐Butt, 2022). It could also be interesting to develop this aspect of spatial complementarity at a landscape scale.…”

The Recolonisation of the Piketberg Leopard Population: A Model for Human–Wildlife Coexistence in a Changing Landscape

“…Some notable examples include the recolonisation of wolves (Canis lupus) to their historic ranges within several human-dominated landscapes in Central and Western Europe [60] and the iconic recolonisation case that followed the meltdown of the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl (1986). In the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, ecological monitoring showed the return of locally extinct species, such as large mammals (e.g., C. lupus and Alces alces [61]) and raptors (e.g., Clanga clanga and Haliaeetus albicilla [62]), reflecting a decreased human threat to local species.…”

Scientists warning on the ecological effects of radioactive leaks on ecosystems

“…We need to recognize urgently the immediate effects of the war on air quality, biodiversity loss due to deforestation, wildfires, habitat loss, and their effects on water resources, soils, and landscape morphology. These impacts would increase significantly in the event of an accidental or deliberate release of radiation (Balonov, 2019;Dombrovski et al, 2022).…”