Chernobyl: the incredible proliferation of plants in the disaster area

The 1986 nuclear disaster, recently rekindled by the television series of the same name, caused cancer in thousands of people, turned a populated area into a ghost town and created an exclusion zone of 2,600 square kilometers.

But the Chernobyl exclusion zone is not devoid of life. Wolves, wild boars and bears, among other species, have returned to the lush forests surrounding the former nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine.

And with respect to vegetation, everything except the most vulnerable and most exposed plants has survived. Even in the most radioactive areas, vegetation has recovered in three years.

In the same areas where the plants received radiation, humans, other mammals and birds would have died much faster.

Why is plant life so resistant to radiation and nuclear disasters?

Effects of radiation on cells

We must first understand how radiation from nuclear reactors affects living cells.

The Chernobyl radioactive material is unstable because it constantly rejects high-energy particles and waves that destroy cell structures or produce reactive chemicals that attack the cell machinery.

Most parts of the cell are replaceable if damaged, but DNA is a crucial exception.

When radiation doses are high, the DNA merges and the cells die quickly.

Chernobyl: the end of an extraordinary experience of three decades

Lower doses can cause more subtle damage in the form of mutations that alter the function of the cell. for example, making it cancerous, multiplies uncontrollably and spreads to other parts of the body.

In animals, this is usually fatal because their cells and systems are highly specialized and inflexible.

Animal biology is like a complex machine in which every cell and every organ has a place and a purpose, and all parties must work and cooperate so that the individual can survive.

A human can not drive without brain, heart and lungs.

Plant flexibility

Plants grow much more flexible than animals.

Since they can not move, they have no choice but to adapt to the circumstances in which they find themselves.

Instead of having a rigid structure similar to that of an animal, the plants form as they develop.

That they grow with deeper roots or if a higher stem is created, it depends on the balance of chemical signals from other parts of the plant and from neighboring species. The conditions of light, temperature, water and nutrients also have an influence.

Unlike animal cells, almost all plants have the ability to create new cells of any type that the plant needs.

This is the reason why a gardener can grow new plants from segments, with roots that grow from what was once a stem or leaf.

This means that plants can replace dead cells or tissues much more easily than animals, either by damage caused by animal attack or by radiation.

And although radiation can cause tumors in plants, mutated cells do not spread from one part of the plant to another as do cancers.

This is due to the rigid and interconnected walls that surround the plant cells.

In addition, tumors are not fatal in the vast majority of cases because the plant can find ways to resolve tissue dysfunction.

In addition to this innate radiation resistance, it appears that some plants in the Chernobyl exclusion zone are using additional mechanisms to protect their DNA, altering their chemical composition to make it more resistant to damage, and activating systems to repair it if it does not work.

Natural radiation levels on the Earth's surface were much higher in the past, when the first plants evolved, so that plants in the exclusion zone could resort to adaptations dating back to that time to survive .

The Chernobyl Red Forest – By Richard Gray

As a result of the Chernobyl accident, a large area of ​​coniferous forest near the plant became dark orange and died while high levels of radiation covered the area.

The area of ​​dense vegetation, between 4 and 6 km², was called the red forest because of the color that the trees took when the plants were poisoned. The region has become a waste land.

But in 30 years, the red forest has regenerated almost completely, with deciduous trees like silver birch occupying the place that was once the pines.

How is the impenetrable "red forest" of Chernobyl (and what is its name)

A recent study on drones revealed that the red forest still had highly irradiated hot spots.

Although a big fire in 2016 destroyed much of the forest, drone images reveal that trees, pastures and other plants are thriving despite radioactive contamination.

resurgence

Life is flourishing in Chernobyl.

Populations of many species of plants and animals are now larger than before the disaster.

Given the tragic loss of human lives badociated with Chernobyl, this resurgence of nature may seem a surprise.

Radiation has been shown to have harmful effects on plant life and may reduce its duration in animals and plants.

But if the resources necessary for life are abundant enough and the radiation is not fatal, life will flourish.

The effects of the radioactive load on Chernobyl were less harmful to nature than if humans had remained in place, which is crucial.

Now converted into one of Europe's largest nature reserves, the ecosystem surrounding the destroyed plant has more life than ever before, though every cycle of this life lasts a little less .

In a way, the Chernobyl disaster reveals the true extent of our environmental impact on the planet.

Despite its negative consequences, the nuclear accident was much less destructive for the local ecosystem than for us.

By moving away from the area, we created a space for the return of nature.

BBC