Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T06:56:41.010Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Impact assessment of long-term chronic radiation exposure on plant populations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2012

S. Geras’kin
Affiliation:
Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, 249020 Obninsk, Russia
A. Oudalova
Affiliation:
Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, 249020 Obninsk, Russia
N. Dikareva
Affiliation:
Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, 249020 Obninsk, Russia
V. Dikarev
Affiliation:
Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, 249020 Obninsk, Russia
J. Prytkova
Affiliation:
Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, 249020 Obninsk, Russia
E. Chernonog
Affiliation:
Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, 249020 Obninsk, Russia
T. Novikova
Affiliation:
Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, 249020 Obninsk, Russia
Get access

Abstract

Studies that examine biological effects on non-human biota in natural settings provide a unique opportunity for obtaining information about the potential biological hazard associated with radioactive contamination. The results of long-term field study in the Bryansk Region, Russia, affected by the Chernobyl accident are discussed. Plant populations growing in areas with relatively low levels of pollution are characterized by the increased level of both cytogenetic alterations and genetic diversity. In particular, radioactive contamination of the plants’ environment activates genetic mechanisms, changing a population’s resistance to exposure. However, there are radioecological situations where enhanced radioresistance has not evolved or has not persisted. A development of a system for protection of the environment from ionizing radiation should be based on a clear understanding of these effects and their contribution to response of populations.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Garnier-Laplace J., Della-Vedova C., Andersson P. et al. J. Radiol. Protect. 30 (2010) 215-233.
Geras’kin S.A., Dikarev V.G., Zyablitskaya Ye.Ya. et al. J. Environ. Radioact. 66(2003) 155-169.
Geras’kin S.A., Zimina L.M., Dikarev V.G. et al. J. Environ. Radioact. 66(2003) 171-180.
Geras’kin S.A., Kim J.K., Oudalova A.A. et al. Mutat. Res. 583 (2005) 55-66.
Geras’kin S.A., Vanina J.C., Dikarev V.G. et al. Biophysics 55 (2010) 324-331.
Geras’kin S.A., Oudalova A.A., Dikareva N.S. et al. Ecotoxicology(2011) DOI 10.1007/s10646-011-0664-7
Geras’kin S.A., Mozolin E.M., Dikarev V.G. et al. Radiat. Biol. Radioecol. 49 (2009) 147-157 (in Russian)
ICRP Publication 108. Environmental protection: the concept and use of reference animals and plants. (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 2009).
IAEA. Effects of ionizing radiation on plants and animals at levels implied by current radiation protection standards. Technical Reports Series N.332. (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1992)
Theodorakis C.W., Ecotoxicology 10 (2001) 245-256.
Ipatyev V., Bulavik I., Braginsky V. et al. J Environ. Radioact. 42(1999) 9-38.
Fedotov I.S., Kalchenko V.A., Igonina E.V. and Rubanovich A.V. Radiat. Biol. Radioecol. 46 (2006) 268-278 (in Russian)
Kalchenko V.A. and Spirin D.A. Russ. J Genet. 25(1989) 1059-1064.
Scock A.V., Glasoun I.N. and Samoshkin E.N., Forest J 5(2005) 7-11 (in Russian)
Shevchenko V.A., Pechkurenkov V.L. and Abramov V.I. Radiation genetics of natural populations: genetic consequences of the Kyshtym accident. (Nauka, Moscow, 1992) (in Russian)
Kovalchuk I., Abramov V., Pogribny I. and Kovalchuk O., Plant Physiology 135 (2004) 357-363.
Hickey D.A. and McNeilly T., Evolution 29 (1975) 458-464.
Hoffmann A.A. and Hercus M.J., BioScience 50 (2000) 217-226.
Boubriak I.I., Grodzinsky D.M., Polischuk V.P. et al. Annals Botany 101 (2008) 267-276.
Syomov A.B., Ptitsyna S.N. and Sergeeva S.A. Sci. Total. Environ. 112 (1992) 1-8.