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  • NEWS FEATURE

Research in Chornobyl zone restarts amid ravages of war

The area surrounding the nuclear reactor was a science hotspot — until it was on the front line of the Ukraine war.
By
  1. Matthew Ponsford

    1. Matthew Ponsford is a journalist based in London.

Roadside signs in the long grass showing "danger mine", "radiation danger" and "red forest"

Signs in the ‘Red Forest’ around the Chornobyl nuclear power plant warn of the dangers from radiation — and of mines. Credit: Denys Vyshnevskyi

In early 2022, ecologist Bohdan Prots was ready to begin a bold new project to restore ecosystems around the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine. Prots and his team were preparing to recreate lost wetlands there in an effort to rewild them and cut the risks of wildfires that spread radioactivity. His first step would be to survey the wildlife in the thickets of pines, birch, black alder and willow trees.

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Nature 624, 244-246 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03861-2

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