Assessment of the Consequences of Forest Fires in 2020 on the Territory of the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve

Abstract

The article presents the consequences of fires that occurred on the territory Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve in April 2020. Research shows that the results of these events characterized as catastrophic. The condition of forests after fires was assessed using satellite data and field trips to review the condition of forests affected by wildfires. The total area affected by the fire in 4 foci was 51,806.5 hectares. The total area of fires in the exclusion zone is 66,222.5 hectares. About 25% of the territories affected by the fires have changed. To preserve the landscape diversity and mosaic of areas covered and not covered with forest vegetation, it is impractical to conduct afforestation (afforestation of fallows) on the territory of the reserve. Among the forests affected by fires, the majority has a high ecological and forestry potential and, accordingly, a high potential for natural recovery (81.6%). In dead forests, the share with a high potential for natural reforestation is slightly lower and amounts to 66.8%. The share of forests with low natural recovery potential is low and amounts to 1.9% and 4.8% in forests affected by fires and dead, respectively. Significantly damaged, and sometimes destroyed, were a number of rare settlements, which are not only important for nature conservation, but also classified by the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention (Resolution 4) as particularly valuable settlements, as well as the “Green Book of Ukraine” (2009). 2 groups were marked as excessively damaged on the territory of the reserve. It should be noted that there is a slight general violation of the protected core of this object of the nature reserve fund, which will allow it to preserve its environmental potential and the functions of protecting and reproducing biodiversity. Most of the areas of the reserve affected by fires have a high forestry potential and are able to recover independently, so they do not require intervention in natural processes for reforestation. The degree of transformation of the ground cover in pine and oak-pine forests of the reserve under the influence of pyrogenic factor is determined by the intensity of the fire. Reforestation in areas with low forest potential should be carried out with clear planning

Incorporating Geographic Information Technologies Into a Framework for Biological Diversity Conservation and Preventing Biological Threats to Landscapes

“…Processing products from satellite data used in this study are available on the Unated State Geological Survey Geoportal (USGS) [19]. Such a method has already been used by the authors of the article in several previous publications, where exactly this method of data processing was used during biodiversity monitoring and assessment of the consequences of fires in the Chornobyl Radiation-Ecological Biosphere Reserve [4,21].…”

Spatial structure of natural landscapes within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone

“…), species of blackberry (Rubus caesius L., R. nessensis W. Hall), and raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.). Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) recovery is gradual and dependent on a variety of conditions (Fedoniuk et al, 2021). This is a result of almost always increasing shrub vegetation areas at the expense of forest areas (Tab.…”

“…In particular, because of the fire in 2020, 1.96 thous. ha of bogs were damaged (Fedoniuk et al, 2021). The restoration of bogs occurs only naturally, so returning them to their natural state and fully restoring the ecosystems will take a long time (Fig.…”

“…A wide variety of tools and databases are available for indepth analysis and study, as well as geospatial distribution (Fedonyuk et al, 2020). The uniqueness of ecosystem changes can be considered in relation to other elements influencing the processes taking place in the ecosystems of the Chornobyl zone (Beresford et al, 2021;Fedoniuk et al, 2021;Sevruk et al, 2021), such as radioactive deposits and forest fires (Evangeliou et al, 2014;Ager et al, 2019;Connor et al, 2020). It will also make it possible to examine the growth of vegetation in evacuated urban settings and abandoned agricultural sites in more detail (Laćan, McBride and Witt De, 2015).…”

Geospatial applications as an integral component of wildlife monitoring in the Chor-nobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve

“…However, the main feature of the reserve is the high but heterogeneous density of surface contamination with radionuclides formed because of the Chornobyl disaster (Talerko, 2005;Beresford et al, 2020). Thus, the large area of the reserve and the inaccessibility of some areas to the reserve's staff due to radioactive contamination make geospatial data collection methods a good alternative to traditional field data collections (Fedoniuk et al, 2021). The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness and limits of applying contemporary tools of data collection and biodiversity monitoring in the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve.…”