4:10 p.m.
Dear IUFRO Meliaceae Working party:
Below is IUFRO Spotlight #72. Other Spotlights can be found at:
http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/
Regards,
Sheila Ward
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: IUFRO Headquarters <office(a)iufro.org>
Date: Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 12:12 PM
Subject: [IUFRO Div 1] IUFRO Congress Spotlight #72 - Radioactive
Contamination and Forests: Learning Lessons from Chernobyl and Fukushima
To: Dear Reader of IUFRO News <div1(a)lists.iufro.org>
[image: IUFRO Spotlight]
IUFRO Congress Spotlight #72 - Radioactive Contamination and Forests:
Learning Lessons from Chernobyl and Fukushima
*IUFRO Spotlight issues up to September 2019 will primarily focus on the
XXV IUFRO World Congress that will take place on 29 September-5 October
2019 in Curitiba, Brazil.*
*Individual Congress sessions will be highlighted in order to draw
attention to the broader Congress themes, the wide variety of topics that
will be addressed at the Congress and their importance on a regional and
global scale.*
*Visit the Congress website at http://iufro2019.com/
<http://iufro2019.com/> or https://www.iufro.org/events/congresses/2019/
<https://www.iufro.org/events/congresses/2019/>.*
Radioactive Contamination and Forests: Learning Lessons from Chernobyl and
Fukushima
PDF for download
<https://www.iufro.org/fileadmin/material/publications/spotlights/congress-spotlight72-radioactive-contamination.pdf>
[image: Photo showing Dose rate reduction test by decontamination work in
Fukushima. Photo: FFPRI]
Dose rate reduction test by decontamination work in Fukushima. Photo: FFPRI
Forests, except in the most severe cases, are quite resilient to
radioactive contamination and will continue functioning normally.
That is one of the surprising takeaways from the nuclear accidents in
Chernobyl and Fukushima.
It may be necessary to prevent people from entering heavily contaminated
forests for many years and the edible forest products from such areas
cannot be used. But there are no reports of loss or damage to forest
ecosystem services such as watershed protection, biodiversity and carbon
storage.
At the IUFRO World Congress in Brazil this fall, scientific sessions will
examine radioactive contamination in forests and the consequences for both
forestry and affected communities.
Dr. Satoru Miura, Director of Japan's Center for Forest Restoration and
Radioecology, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, is the chair
of coordinators at a session entitled: *Current understanding and future
challenges for forest research after the two nuclear accidents of Chernobyl
and Fukushima*.
When the Fukushima nuclear accident occurred in 2011, "we did have the
advantage of the lessons of Chernobyl," said
Dr. Miura. Japanese scientists were able to use a large number of
scientific papers and reports from the Chernobyl nuclear event and its
consequences to inform their decisions and actions regarding Fukushima.
For the forest scientists that meant the ability to begin monitoring the
forests and the concentration of radioactivity in forest products
immediately. Valuable initial data were gathered and, as the 10-year
anniversary of Fukushima approaches, a comprehensive overview of what has
been learned is being compiled.
Dr. Miura notes that, "after the Chernobyl accident it was quickly realized
that ‘radioecology' is a multidisciplinary field that needs the
complementary skills of physicists, chemists, biologists, mathematicians,
engineers, social scientists, psychologists and others to fully understand
the impacts of radioactive contamination on forests and other ecosystems."
In Japan, cross-disciplinary workshops have been held that allowed
researchers from a number of disciplines to exchange opinions on what could
be done to manage the consequences of Fukushima.
The underlying principle for the management of contaminated forests is that
it must be "realistic and pragmatic," he said. Cost-benefit analyses and
accurate modelling of future contamination, among other things, have been
suggested as indispensable parts of the process.
Options to mitigate negative impacts range from abandoning timber crops,
delaying or bringing forward timber harvesting, applying fertilizers such
as lime and potash from the air to reduce the uptake of radiocaesium by
trees, restricting game hunting and wild food gathering as well as
restricting public access.
In both Chernobyl and Fukushima, some chromosomal abnormalities of wildlife
such as field mice and some structural abnormalities of coniferous tree
species have been reported, but there have been no reports of fatal effects
on wildlife.
"The effects of radioactive contamination vary widely, depending on the
type and level of the accident, the tree type, soil type, topography,
socio-economic conditions and local and national responses," he said.
Chernobyl's "Red Forest" – a plantation about 2-3 km west of the Chernobyl
reactor – is the only documented case of organisms in forests being killed
by radiation.
There, in a narrow, 200-300 metre area of destruction, Scots pines died
within weeks of receiving extremely high radiation doses. Birch species
have since quickly colonized the open spaces left by the dead pines and
trees immediately outside the "lethal dose" zone continue to grow with no
obvious abnormalities.
In fact, in the case of the "Red Forest" and surrounding areas there has
been inward migration of wildlife – boar, moose, bear, wolf and European
bison are commonly seen there. This has been attributed primarily to the
absence of people after the disaster. Published evidence of the effects –
or lack of effects – of radiation exposure in these animals has been
contradictory.
Dr. Miura said the Brazil Congress offers a timely opportunity to bring
together specialists in forest radioecology, especially those working in
the Fukushima area, who have made some major advances in our understanding
of the short- to medium-term impacts of radiocaesium contamination of
forests after a severe nuclear accident.
As a cautionary note, he added: "There are more than 400 nuclear reactors
in the world. So, everyone should have an awareness of the potential for
accidents. We must develop the science and technology to respond rapidly
and effectively to limit and mitigate the effects of contamination.
"And, speaking as a forest scientist, we must learn in ways that allow us
to maintain the sustainable management of forests," Dr. Miura said. "These
sessions will give us some indication of how far we have come in terms of
understanding and should also give an idea of where we have to go."
*See you at the IUFRO 2019 World Congress*!
Visit *http://iufro2019.com/ <http://iufro2019.com/>* * Look out for
*#IUFRO2019
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/iufro2019?f=tweets&vertical=default&src=hash>*
on Twitter and *XXV IUFRO World Congress 2019
<https://www.facebook.com/events/1881111872132294/>* on Facebook
------------------------------------------------
*IUFRO Spotlight* is an initiative of the International Union of Forest
Research Organizations. Its aim is to introduce, in a timely fashion,
significant findings in forest research from IUFRO member organizations
and/or involving IUFRO officeholders to a worldwide network of decision
makers, policy makers and researchers.
*The findings reported here are submitted by IUFRO Member Organizations.
IUFRO is pleased to highlight and circulate these findings to a broad
audience but, in doing so, acts only as a conduit. The quality and accuracy
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authors.*
Suggestions for reports and findings that could be promoted through *IUFRO
Spotlight* are encouraged. To be considered, reports should be fresh, have
policy implications and be applicable to more than one country. If you
would like to have a publication highlighted by *Spotlight*, *contact:
Gerda Wolfrum, wolfrum(at)iufro.org <wolfrum(a)iufro.org>*g>*.
The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) is the
only worldwide organization devoted to forest research and related
sciences. Its members are research institutions, universities, and
individual scientists as well as decision-making authorities and other
stakeholders with a focus on forests and trees. Visit:
https://www.iufro.org/
------------------------------------------------
*IUFRO Congress Spotlight #72 published in September 2019 by IUFRO
Headquarters, Vienna, Austria. Available for download at:
**https://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/
<https://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/>*
*Contact the editor at office(at)iufro.org <wolfrum(a)iufro.org> or
visit https://www.iufro.org/ <https://www.iufro.org/?id=104>*
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