Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
Kuvakäsikirjoitus Kuvaus
Using the nuclear disaster as an example of secondary succession.
Kuvakäsikirjoitus Teksti
- 35 years ago, there was a deadly nuclear explosion in the Ukraine that killed many plants, animals, and caused radiation sickness in people. Over the years, scientists have been able to closely watch how plants and animals react to radiation exposure. Although there is an exclusion zone to keep people out, scientists can remotely see the area beginning to restore plant and animal life.
- That is a terrible man-made disaster! Will the ecosystem ever recover?
- What's the difference between First and Secondary succession?
- It is, slowly over time. Because the ecosystem was badly damaged with radiation, over the decades native vegetation has started to grow back which supports smaller mammals and then larger animals in the food chain. The absence of humans also allow the area to evolve naturally. This is called Secondary Succession.
- Primary succession is a type of ecological succession that takes place in an environment that is recently formed and lacks habitable soil but then is colonized for the first time by living organisms.Secondary is when an already established ecosystem gets disruption due to natural or man-made disasters, then is recolonized by other organisms. Chernobyl already had its own ecosystem that was destroyed by the explosion.
- It's probably going to be a really long time before humans can safely go back to that area. Nature usually adapts and finds a way!
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