The impact of nuclear accidents on provisioning ecosystem services

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Authors

Nuclear accidents lead to widespread radioactive contamination of ecosystems and related ecosystem services, with potentially serious consequences for human well-being. Based on an initial exploratory analysis of peer-reviewed articles related to Chernobyl and Fukushima, we identified papers which measured increased Cs-137 levels in provisioning ecosystem services. We used a standardized review-protocol to assess (1) whether peer-reviewed science provides sufficient data density and spatial coverage to provide a coherent and comprehensive map of the global impacts of nuclear accidents on provisioning of ecosystem services; (2) whether such impacts are reported in a standardized and reproducible way; and (3) how different safety thresholds affect the availability of food and fodder for human consumption. Based on an initial analysis of approximately 3000 articles, we identified 121 publications that measured Caesium-137 levels in food, fodder and wood. We found that the comprehensive mapping of the impacts of nuclear accidents on provisioning ecosystem services requires a considerable increase in peer-reviewed assessments, including assessment of existing grey literature. Assessments should follow a coherent protocol, providing consistent information on sampling location and the identification of provisioning ecosystem services. There should be a critical dialogue on maximum allowable radiation levels in provisioning ecosystem services and the impacts of such safe appropriation thresholds on human well-being.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEcological Indicators
Volume41
Pages (from-to)1-14
Number of pages14
ISSN1470-160X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 06.2014

    Research areas

  • Ecosystems Research - Caesium 137, Chernobyl, Ecosystem services, Fukushima, Nuclear accident