REPORT of Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste and Radioecology
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REPORT of Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste and Radioecology On results of studies in 2017 on theme: Assessment of state and development tendencies of natural landscapes and biodiversity on the territoru of Chernobyl exclusion zone In framework of the UNEP-GEF project “Conserving, Enhancing and Managing Carbon Stocks and Biodiversity in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone” Reporting period 08.08.2017 – 31.12.2017 Agreement No. SSFA/2017/14 S1-32GFL-000370/11232/SB-000687.37/14AC0003 Signed: General Director of CC Bondarkov Mikhail D. 2017 Report of Chornobyl Center on UNEP-GEF project in 2017 2 CONTENT INTORDUCTION. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT .............................................................................. 4 MAIN DATA OF THE PROJECT .......................................................................................................................................... 4 MAIN GOAL..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE PROJECT .............................................................................................................................. 4 DELIVERABLES. GENERAL GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CHEZ ................................................ 5 DIVERSITY OF ECOSYSTEMS AND LANDSCAPES ............................................................................................................... 5 WEATHER AND CLIMATE CONDITIONS IN CHEZ............................................................................................................ 10 DELIVERABLES. FLORA IN THE CHEZ ................................................................................................................ 13 ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT STATE AND MAIN TRENDS IN MONITORING OF THE CHEZ FLORA. ................................ 13 MAIN TRENDS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS DEVELOPMENT IN THE POST-ACCIDENT PERIOD AND PRESENT TIME ..................... 16 MODERN KNOWLEDGE ON THE SPECIES DISTRIBUTION AND STRUCTURE OF THE PHYTOCOMPLEXES IN THE CHEZ....... 28 RARE PLANT SPECIES IN THE CHEZ ............................................................................................................................ 136 ASSESSMENT OF THE ECOSYSTEMS IN THE CHEZ FOR SUPPORTING THE BIODIVERSITY AND ECOLOGICAL BALANCE IN THE EASTERN EUROPEAN REGION ............................................................................................................................... 158 DELIVERABLES. FAUNA IN THE CHEZ. ............................................................................................................. 162 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................... 162 THE CURRENT STATUS OF STUDYING CEZ FAUNA ...................................................................................................... 164 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CHEZ FAUNA AND TRENDS OF ITS DEVELOPMENT AFTER THE CHORNOBYL ACCIDENT .... 176 THE SPECIES COMPOSITION OF VERTEBRATE FAUNA REGISTERED IN CEZ IN 1986-2017 ............................................ 187 THE RED DATA BOOK ANIMAL SPECIES IN CHEZ. ANNOTATED PROFILES ................................................................. 224 ASSESSMENT OF THE EXTENT OF ANTHROPOGENIC TRANSFORMATION OF NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS AND THE LEVEL OF CURRENT ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACT .......................................... 302 CHEZ SITES WITH THE HIGHEST ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE .................................................................... 309 Report of Chornobyl Center on UNEP-GEF project in 2017 3 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS NRFU — Natural Reserve Fund of Ukraine ChEZ — Exclusion zone and zone of unconditional (compulsory) resettlement (Chornobyl exclusion zone) RBU — Red list book of Ukraine (2009) CC — State research organisation «Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste and Radioecology» UNEP — United Nations Environment Programme PSRER — Polesski State Radiation&Ecological Reserve (Republic of Belarus) CREBR — Chornobyl Radiation&Ecological Biospheric Reserve Report of Chornobyl Center on UNEP-GEF project in 2017 4 Intorduction. Brief description of the project Main data of the project Title: Conserving, Enhancing and Managing Carbon Stocks and Biodiversity in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Task: Assessment of state and development tendencies of natural landscapes and biodiversity on the territoru of Chernobyl exclusion zone Reporting State research organisation «Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, organisation: Radioactive Waste and Radioecology» Contact person: Mikhail Bondarkov, general director Reporting period: Since 08/08/2017 to 31/12/2017 Reporting stage: Report about work results in 2017 Date of submitting: Main goal The study goal is assessment of biodiversity of CEZ, development tendencies and current state of plant and animal complexes as presuppositions for organizing environmental measures in CREBR. Expected results of the project Detailed description of biological diversity in CEZ will be given as a result of field studies and analysis of earlier published data. Main emphasis will be put on vascular plants and fauna of vertebrates as the most studied groups of the region. The following output information will be presented in the report: 1) a review of modern state of flora and fauna; 2) information about tendencies in development of natural complexes of CEZ over all period after the accident on ChNPP; 3) list of vertebrate species and vascular plants recorder in CEZ; 4) annotation review of all ‘red list’ species protected according to national legislation and international conventions; 5) definition of the most valuable in environmental sense areas of CEZ with justification of such conclusions; 6) significance of CEZ natural complexes for support and enrichment of biodiversity and ecological balance in the Eastern-European region. Results of the study will favor development of environmental activity in CEZ, monitoring and investigations of forest, meadow, marsh and other natural complexes. Together with generic description and cartographic charts the information obtained will represent a passport of the site chose, and at a corresponding decision it will be used for applying environmental measures. Report of Chornobyl Center on UNEP-GEF project in 2017 5 Deliverables. General geographic characteristics of ChEZ Diversity of ecosystems and landscapes The Chornobyl exclusion zone and zone of absolute (mandatory) resettlement (ChEZ) is located within the physicogeographic region of Kyiv Polissia in the Polesian Lowland of the East European Plain [Physicogeographic zoning ..., 1968]. The relief in ChEZ is characterized by a general eastward slope, presence of moraine-outwash, moraine-hilly and outwash plains, and by the prevailing heights of 115-140 m above sea level, with the maximum elevation of 160 m in its northwest and central parts (Fig. 1) Fig. 1. ChEZ relief, elevation above sea level, m. The Pripyat and Uzh are the largest local rivers and have wide floodplain settlings of up to 5-7 km and marked supra-floodplain terraces. Moreover, the whole territory is covered by a network of shallow watercourses (the Sakhan, Brahynka, Ilia, Hrzelia, Veresnia rivers). Upper reaches of the Kyiv reservoir on the Dnieper River are on the south-eastern outskirts. Until 2014, a large cooling pond of the Chornobyl NPP (22 km2) was found in the very centre of ChEZ. Since 2017, it is at the decommissioning (drainage) stage, further there shall be a return to the state of a series of small floodplain reservoirs. Also, there are a lot of other shallow water bodies of glacial origin and some artificial lakes (former peat extractions) in the ChEZ area. In the past, such type of relief and high level of groundwater caused swamping of large areas there. Due to the developed network of meliorative canals (some of them were constructed far back in the 19th century) marshes Report of Chornobyl Center on UNEP-GEF project in 2017 6 cover not more than 2-3% of the total area. However, a gradual recovery of water logging is observed resulting from the terminated meliorative activity in the last 30 years and animal activity. ChEZ is located on the slopes of the Ukrainian Crystalline Massif. The crystalline rocks are 300-400 m submerged under the Mesozoic and Paleogene marine deposits and overlapped with Quaternary sediments that form outwash, moraine-outwash and alluvial plains. The insets of river valleys are 25-30 m deep. The geomorphologic structure causes a significant differentiation of natural regions. The outwash and moraine-outwash plains dominate in the interstream area. Also, there are terminal moraine ranges. In the river valleys, the main role belongs to floodplains and aggradational terraces with eolian relief forms and wetlands [Marinich, 1963]. Quaternary deposits play an important role in the formation of relief and differentiation of natural regions. By their origin, the Quaternary deposits belong to glacial, aqueo-glacial, alluvial, aeolian, lacustrine, diluvial, organogenic and other types of deposits. The lithology includes mainly sandy and argillo-arenaceous deposits with field stones and alluvium, predominantly of crystalline rocks. A significant diversity and mosaic of natural regions are observed. With a relatively small diversity of landscape areas and tracts, they are often interspersed. Outwash lowlands with sod cryptopodzol