Effects of non-human species irradiation after the Chernobyl NPP accident

The area affected by the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident in 1986 has become a unique test site where long-term ecological and biological consequences of a drastic change in a range of environmental factors as well as trends and intensity of selection are studied in natural settings. The consequences of the Chernobyl accident for biota varied from an enhanced rate of mutagenesis to damage at the ecosystem level. The review comprehensively brings together key data of the long-term studies of biological effects in plants and animals inhabiting over 20 years the Chernobyl NPP zone. The severity of radiation effects was strongly dependent on the dose received in the early period after the accident. The most exposed phytocenoses and soil animals' communities exhibited dose dependent alterations in the species composition and reduction in biological diversity. On the other hand, no decrease in numbers or taxonomic diversity of small mammals even in the most radioactive habitat was shown. In a majority of the studies, in both plant and animal populations from the Chernobyl zone, in the first years after the accident high increases in mutation rates were documented. In most cases the dose-effect relationships were nonlinear and the mutation rates per unit dose were higher at low doses and dose rates. In subsequent years a decline in the radiation background rate occurred faster than reduction in the mutation rate. Plant and animal populations have shown signs of adaptation to chronic exposure. In adaptation to the enhanced level of exposure an essential role of epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression regulation was shown. Based on the Chernobyl NPP accident studies, in the present review attempts were made to assess minimum doses at which ecological and biological effects were observed.     

Changes in the numbers of predatory mammals in the Middle Urals caused by anthropogenic factors

Degradation of fur hunting in the mid-1990s allowed the impact of hunting on some species of predatory mammals to be estimated. The numbers of sables, martens, foxes, and lynx were demonstrated to slowly decrease in the period of intense hunting; after pelt trade ceased, the numbers of sables, martens, and foxes increased by a factor of three within 15 years. Ermines and Siberian weasels had not experienced a substantial hunting pressure; changes in their numbers were caused by other factors.     

青藏高原NPP时空演变格局及其驱动机制分析

青藏高原植被生态系统对全球变化的响应较为敏感。该研究引入重心模型等方法分析和探讨了2000～2015年青藏高原NPP时空变化格局及其驱动机理,并定量区分了NPP变化过程中气候变化和人类活动的相对作用。结果发现:(1)2000～2015年,青藏高原NPP年均值总体上呈现从东南向西北递减的趋势。在年际变化方面,近16年青藏高原不同生态子区的NPP均呈现不同程度的增加趋势。(2)近16年青藏高原NPP重心总体向西南方向移动,表明西南部NPP在增量和增速上大于东北部。(3)NPP与降水显著相关的区域主要位于青藏高原中部、青藏高原东南部及雅鲁藏布江流域中下游,而NPP与气温显著相关的区域主要位于藏南地区、横断山区北部、青藏高原中部和北部。(4)气候变化和人类活动在青藏高原NPP变化过程中的相对作用存在显著的时空差异性,在空间上呈现"四线-五区"的格局。研究成果可为揭示青藏高原区域生态系统对全球变化的响应机制提供理论和方法支撑。     

Ecological Characteristics of Small Rodents Living in Collective Gardens

The small-rodent populations of five collective gardens have been studied. The example of one of the populations has been used to monitor the annual cycle of population size. The species composition and animal number depends on the biotope, climatic conditions, and the anthropogenic load. The ratios between species in the gardens and neighboring biotopes differ from each other, with different species being dominant. It is assumed that small mammals use garden plots as refugia.     

New data on the population structure of small mammals in the Denezhkin Kamen’ Nature Reserve

For the first time, continuous studies on the population structure of rodents and insectivores in three altitudinal belts on the eastern macroslope of the Northern Urals have been performed over several years in the Denezhkin Kamen’ Nature Reserve. The results show the mountain tundra communities are depleted, the small mammal populations of zonal habitats are similar to each other, and river valleys and sparse forests of the subalpine belt play a leading role in supporting the maximum species diversity of small mammals.     

Forty years of atmospheric radiocarbon monitoring around Bohunice nuclear power plant, Slovakia

Radiocarbon variations in the atmospheric CO(2) with attenuating amplitudes and decreasing mean values with typical maxima in summer and minima in winter have been observed since 1967 in two localities of Slovakia, in Bratislava and Zlkovce, situated about 60 km NE from Bratislava, only 5 km from the Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The (14)C record in Bratislava has been influenced mainly by fossil CO(2) emissions, in contrast to the Zlkovce record which has been more variable, as it has clearly been affected by operation of the Bohunice NPP. However, during specific meteorological conditions with NE transport of air masses to Bratislava, the effect of the Bohunice NPP has been visible in Bratislava as well. Maximum (14)C concentrations (up to 120% above a natural background) were observed around A1 NPP which used CO(2) with admixture of air as a cooling agent. The (14)C concentrations around four pressurized light water reactors were up to 30% above the background. The Delta(14)C values in the heavily polluted atmosphere of Bratislava were up to 10% and at Zlkovce up to 5% lower than the European clean air represented by the Jungfraujoch Delta(14)C data. Later the Delta(14)C values were similar at both sites, and from 2003 they were close to the European clean air levels. The observed Delta(14)C behaviour in the atmosphere provides a unique evidence of decreased fossil fuel CO(2) emissions in the region, as well as the long-term effect of the Bohunice NPP on the Bratislava and Zlkovce stations. The estimated annual radiation doses to the local public due to digestion of radiocarbon contaminated food have been estimated to be around 3 microSv.     

Quantifying the limits of HANPP and carbon emissions which prolong total species well-being

Anthropogenic climate and land-use change are leading to irreversible losses of global biodiversity, upon which ecosystem functioning depends. Since total species' well-being depends on ecosystem goods and services, man must determine how much net primary productivity (NPP) may be appropriated and carbon emitted so as to not adversely impact this and future generations. In 2005, man ought to have only appropriated 9.72 Pg C of NPP, representing a factor 2.50, or 59.93%, reduction in human-appropriated NPP in that year. Concurrently, the carbon cycle would have been balanced with a factor 1.26, or 20.84%, reduction from 7.60 Gt C/year to 5.70 Gt C/year, representing a return to the 1986 levels. This limit is in keeping with the category III stabilization scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change. Projecting population growth to 2030 and its associated basic food requirements, the maximum HANPP remains at 9.74 ± 0.02 Pg C/year. This time-invariant HANPP may only provide for the current global population of 6.51 billion equitably at the current average consumption of 1.49 t C per capita, calling into question the sustainability of developing countries striving for high-consuming country levels of 5.85 t C per capita and its impacts on equitable resource distribution.     

Effect of fires on the functioning of phytocenoses of peat bogs in the Middle-Amur lowland

The dynamics and structure of the phytomass and production of an undisturbed mesotrophic dwarf shrub–sphagnum phytocenosis and one burned by fire have been compared. The net primary production (NPP) of both sites of phytocenoses in the postpyrogenic period is estimated by direct field determination of the productivity parameters, and C emission from the fire is assessed. The obtained data on emission (0.7 kg/m²) differ from the results obtained in the peatlands of western Canada (3.2 kg/m²).     

Aggregated Estimation of Basic Parameters of Biological Production and the Carbon Budget of Russian Terrestrial Ecosystems: 2. Net Primary Production

The estimated net primary production (NPP) of Russian terrestrial ecosystems (annual average over the period from 1988 to 1992) is 9544 Tg of dry matter, or 4353 Tg of carbon. Of the total amount, forests account for approximately 39.2% (here and below, comparisons are made with respect to carbon content); natural grasslands and brushwoods, for 27.6%; farmlands (arable land and cultivated pastures), for 22.0%; and wetlands, for 11.2%. The average NPP density on lands covered with vegetation (1629.8 million hectares in Russia) is 267 g C/m²per year. The highest value (498 g C/m²per year) is characteristic of arable lands. Other land-use/land-cover (LULC) classes have the following NPP densities (in areas covered with vegetation): grasslands and brushwoods, 278 g C/m²; forests, 224 g C/m²; and wetlands, 219 g C/m²per year. In general, Russian terrestrial ecosystems accumulate 59.7% of the total NPP in the aboveground phytomass (47.8% in green parts and 11.9% in wood) and 40.3% in the underground phytomass. The latter parameter differs significantly in different LULC classes and bioclimatic zones. According to calculations, the uncertainty in estimating the total NPP is 11% (a priori confidential probability 0.9).     

Wild plant species in bio-indication of radioactive-contaminated sites around Jaslovské Bohunice nuclear power plant in the Slovak Republic

In a long-term study of contaminated soil around Jaslovské Bohunice nuclear power plant (NPP), 24 species of local flora were used to show impact of serious accidents from 1976 to 1977. The 19-km-long banks of the Jaslovské Bohunice NPP wastewater recipient have been identified as contaminated by (137)Cs. In total, more than 67,000m(2) of riverbanks have been found as being contaminated at levels exceeding 1Bq (137)Csg(-1) of soil. Used phytotoxic and cytogenetic "in situ" tests were extended by analyses of pollen grains. Although the dose of some samples of radioactive soil was relatively high (322kBqkg(-1)) no significant impact on the biological level of tested wild plant species was observed.     

Odontological characteristics of European brown bears from the Central Forest Biosphere Nature Reserve

Forty-five skulls of European brown bears from the Central Forest Nature Reserve and adjacent regions were examined in detail. The frequencies of oligodonty, dental caries, parodontosis, and traumatized teeth were estimated. A total of 12 variants of the tooth formula were described. The sample under study was distinguished from the populations examined previously by the lowest frequency of oligodonty. Dental caries in one or several teeth, caused by mechanical damage or malocclusion, occurred in 14% of animals. Strong wear marks on the canines caused by feeding on oats frequently resulted in broken canines in bears of the senior age groups.     

Temporal variations of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in sea otter skull tissue in the North Pacific Ocean

Marine mammals being among the top predators in the food web tend to accumulate organic and inorganic contaminants from the environment. The body burden of contaminants in these species could reflect their foods and thus contaminant levels could serve as proxies on the changes of ecosystem. A pilot study was carried out to investigate the possibility of radionuclide leakage at Amchitka using a suite of sea otter (Enhydra lutris) skulls collected near Amchitka nuclear test-sites before (1950s) and after the testing (1990s), and at Adak, another Aleutian Island, about 300 km from Amchitka, where the potential impact of radionuclide leakage from Amchitka is expected to be negligible. In addition, the naturally occurring and anthropogenic radionuclide content on the sea otter skull was also utilized to investigate if there was any significant ecosystem changes in the environment. Concentration of 210Pb in sea otter bones collected during the 1950s was significantly higher than those collected in the 1990s. We propose that among the various factors that could cause this higher enrichment in 210Pb, changes in the sea otter prey is the most likely one. Comparison of the 137Cs, 90Sr, 239,240Pu concentrations appear not to be significantly higher in sea otter skulls collected in 1990s from Amchitka where the underground tests in 1965-71 than those from Adak, although significant differences were detected among different groups collected at various times.     

Quantitative Relationships between Predatory and Nonpredatory Animals in Freshwater Ecosystems

The ratios between the sizes of predators and prey have been estimated. On average, the linear sizes and body weights of aquatic predatory animals are approximately three and nine times greater, respectively, than those of nonpredatory animals. The biomass of predators in waters with different productivity levels is, on average, about 20% of the biomass of nonpredatory animals. However, the ratio between the biomasses of predatory and nonpredatory animals in the same water body may vary seasonally and annually and differ in different parts of this water body. The average numbers of predatory fish in ichthyocenoses are no more than 3% of the numbers of nonpredatory fish. The living space (individual range) of predatory fish is about 40 times larger than that of their prey. The relatively low numbers of predators in water bodies may be accounted for by the lower number of predatory species and their higher mortality at early developmental stages, compared to nonpredatory species.     

Increase in Skull Size of Red Fox (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Vulpes vulpes</Emphasis>) in the Second Half of the XX Century in Northeastern Europe

Based on the skulls of red fox collected in northeastern Europe for 20 years, we obtained new data on directed temporal variation. The increase in skull size is closely related to an increase in the mean annual temperature, i.e., global warming. It was found for the first time that some skull traits increase at different rates, both within and between structural population groups. The phenomenon of increasing skull size with increases in the mean air temperature contradicts Bergmann’s rule. The causes of such increase are especially important for an understanding the adaptive role of processes in populations resulting from climate changes.     

Frequency distributions of 137Cs in fish and mammal populations

We collected fish and mammals in several radioactively contaminated locations in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and analyzed them for 137Cs content. Frequency distributions were built for populations of channel catfish, yellow-necked mice and bank voles. We combined our data with similar data from several other studies to demonstrate the relationship between the standard deviations and means of 137Cs of fish and mammal populations. The frequency distributions of 137Cs in populations of fish and mammals are not normal, as indicated by the strong relationship between standard deviation and mean. Distributions for mammals are more skewed than those for fish. Fish and mammals probably use their environments in fundamentally different ways. The highest concentrations and thus greatest risks are therefore confined to relatively few individuals in each population.     

Modeling Carbon and Water Budgets in the Lushi Basin with Biome-BGC

Abstract

In this article, annual evapotranspiration (ET) and net primary productivity (NPP) of four types of vegetation were estimated for the Lushi basin, a subbasin of the Yellow River in China. These four vegetation types include: deciduous broadleaf forest, evergreen needle leaf forest, dwarf shrub and grass. Biome-BGC—a biogeochemical process model was used to calculate annual ET and NPP for each vegetation type in the study area from 1954 to 2000. Daily microclimate data of 47 years monitored by Lushi meteorological station was extrapolated to cover the basin using MT-CLIM, a mountain microclimate simulator. The output files of MT-CLIM were used to feed Biome-BGC. We used average ecophysiological values of each type of vegetation supplied by Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group (NTSG) in the University of Montana as input ecophysiological constants file. The estimates of daily NPP in early July and annual ET on these four biome groups were compared respectively with field measurements and other studies. Daily gross primary production (GPP) of evergreen needle leaf forest measurements were very close to the output of Biome-BGC, but measurements of broadleaf forest and dwarf shrub were much smaller than the simulation result. Simulated annual ET and NPP had a significant correlation with precipitation, indicating precipitation is the major environmental factor affecting ET and NPP in the study area. Precipitation also is the key climatic factor for the interannual ET and NPP variations.     

长江上游植被净初级生产力年际变化规律及其对气候的响应

在GIS系统支持下,利用遥感和气象资料,构建了基于光能利用率的植被净初级生产力（NPP）模型,估算了1981~2000年长江上游地区植被年NPP分布。分析了不同植被类型NPP的年际变化规律,基于像元空间尺度讨论了植被NPP对气候的响应关系。结果表明：除农作物外,各植被类型NPP均呈增长趋势,其中针叶林增幅最大。NPP出现较明显变化地区可能主要与人为因素作用有关。长江上游年降水量和年均温分布均与年NPP分布相似,从西北向东南逐步递增趋势。长江上游NPP与降水和均温的年际相关性整体不强。呈强正相关性（相关系数大于0.2）的区域,其面积均占据了总面积的近一半,其分布呈现互补关系。呈强负相关性（相关系数小于-0.2）的区域面积较小。随地理位置的不同,气候因子（降水、气温）对NPP的年际变化的驱动作用（强度、方向）不同.     

2000～2015年江汉平原区域植被NPP时空特征及其对气候变化的响应

植被NPP对气候变化的响应是全球变化与陆地生态系统碳循环研究的重要核心内容之一。利用CASA模型估算了2000~2015年江汉平原植被NPP,并利用线性回归与逐像元相关性分析方法定量研究了江汉平原植被NPP的时空变化特征及其与气候因素的相关性。结果表明：（1）16年来江汉平原植被NPP的年总量在25.43~29.76 TgC之间,呈波动增加趋势;（2）江汉平原NPP的空间分布格局具有明显的不均匀特征,形成一系列的高值中心和低值中心,符合“丘陵-平原-河流-城市”的衰减趋势;（3）江汉平原NPP与年降水量、年均温的相关系数分别为0.183 7和0.498 5;经显著性检验可知,江汉平原NPP的产量与年降水量相关性较弱,而与年均温则呈较强的正相关关系;（4）植被NPP与年降水量、年均温呈正相关的像元面积分别占总面积的69.19%和83.41%,主要分布在江汉平原腹部的农耕区域,说明江汉平原农耕区NPP的产量对年降水量与年均温的依赖性较强。     

Occurrence and behaviour of radionuclides in the Moselle River—Part I: Entry of natural and artificial radionuclides

Various sources contribute to the radioactive contamination of the Moselle River, among which the French NPP Cattenom with four units of 1300 M We represents the most important. Appropriate operational precautions were taken in order to monitor the nuclide transfer on different pathways under normal and accidental conditions and the effectiveness of these measures has been tested using natural (²¹⁴Pb/²¹⁴Bi, ⁷Be, ⁴⁰K) and artificial radionuclides. (³H, ⁵⁸Co, ⁶⁰Co, ¹³¹I, ¹³⁷Cs) as tracers. Measurements of suspended matter have revealed that the inputs of natural nuclides exceed the discharges of the NPP Cattenom. In 1992 the annual loads of ⁷Be and ⁴⁰K in suspended matter at Palzem amounted to 21 and 130 GBq year⁻¹, whereas the emission rates of ⁶⁰Co and ¹³⁷Cs were about 2.6 and 1.0 GBq year⁻¹. The total nuclide load of ¹³⁷Cs at Palzem reached 6.2 GBq year⁻¹, which is about six times the quantity emitted by the NPP Cattenom in the same year. This excess is due to the accident at Chernobyl and to a lesser extent to prior atmospheric weapons tests.