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The consequences of chronic radiation exposure of scots pine in the remote period after the chernobyl accident

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Abstract

Long-term observations on Scots pine populations (2003–2012) were performed in areas of Bryansk region radioactively contaminated by the Chernobyl fallout. Throughout the observation period, the frequency of cytogenetic alterations in the root meristem of germinated seeds of pine trees from radioactively contaminated test sites significantly exceeded the control level. Seeds developing under chronic radiation exposure were characterized by high interannual variation in viability. The quality of the seeds and their resistance to additional γ-irradiation showed no definite relationship with the level of radioactive contamination in the site and the radiation dose absorbed by the generative organs of Scots pine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Russian Institute of Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe sh. 109 km, Obninsk, Kaluga region, 249032, Russia

    S. A. Geras’kin, N. S. Dikareva, A. A. Oudalova, D. V. Vasil’ev & P. Yu. Volkova

  2. Obninsk Institute for Nuclear Power Engineering, MEPhI National Research Nuclear University, Studgorodok 1, Obninsk, Kaluga oblast, 249040, Russia

    A. A. Oudalova

Authors
  1. S. A. Geras’kin
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  2. N. S. Dikareva
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  3. A. A. Oudalova
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  4. D. V. Vasil’ev
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  5. P. Yu. Volkova
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Correspondence to S. A. Geras’kin or A. A. Oudalova.

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Original Russian Text © S.A. Geras’kin, N.S. Dikareva, A.A. Oudalova, D.V. Vasil’ev, P.Yu. Volkova, 2016, published in Ekologiya, 2016, No. 1, pp. 30–43.

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Geras’kin, S.A., Dikareva, N.S., Oudalova, A.A. et al. The consequences of chronic radiation exposure of scots pine in the remote period after the chernobyl accident. Russ J Ecol 47, 26–38 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1067413616010057

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