Chernobyl Damage Doesn't Just Keep Plants From Growing, It Keeps Them From Decomposing
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 - 13:10
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Radiological damage at Chernobyl doesn't just keep plant life from growing, it even keeps plant life from decomposing. A paper in the journal Oecologia finds that microbes near the site of the Chernobyl disaster has slowed the decomposition of fallen leaves and other plant matter in the area. The resulting buildup of dry, loose detritus is a wildfire hazard that poses the threat of spreading radioactivity from the Chernobyl area. read more