Relationships between radiation, wildfire and the soil microbial communities in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone

de Menezes, Alexandre Barretto; Gashchak, Sergii; Wood, Michael D.; Beresford, Nicholas A.. 2024 Relationships between radiation, wildfire and the soil microbial communities in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Science of The Total Environment, 950, 175381. 12, pp. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175381

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Abstract/Summary

There is considerable uncertainty regarding radiation's effects on biodiversity in natural complex ecosystems typically subjected to multiple environmental disturbances and stresses. In this study we characterised the relationships between soil microbial communities and estimated total absorbed dose rates to bacteria, grassy vegetation and trees in the Red Forest region of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Samples were taken from sites of contrasting ecological histories and along burn and no burn areas following a wildfire. Estimated total absorbed dose rates to bacteria reached levels one order of magnitude higher than those known to affect bacteria in laboratory studies. Sites with harsher ecological conditions, notably acidic pH and low soil moisture, tended to have higher radiation contamination levels. No relationship between the effects of fire and radiation were observed. Microbial groups that correlated with high radiation sites were mostly classified to taxa associated with high environmental stress habitats or stress resistance traits. Distance-based linear models and co-occurrence analysis revealed that the effects of radiation on the soil microbiome were minimal. Hence, the association between high radiation sites and specific microbial groups is more likely a result of the harsher ecological conditions in these sites, rather than due to radiation itself. In this study, we provide a starting point for understanding the relationship between soil microbial communities and estimated total absorbed radiation dose rates to different components of an ecosystem highly contaminated with radiation. Our results suggest that soil microbiomes adapted to natural soil conditions are more likely to be resistant to ionising radiation than expected from laboratory studies, which demonstrates the importance of assessing the impact of ionising radiation on soil microbial communities under field conditions.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175381
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Pollution (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	0048-9697
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	Chernobyl, radioactivity, radioecology, ecological recovery, environmental stress, soil microbial ecology
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	13 Aug 2024 14:25 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/537843

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