Soil fauna as bioindicator of radioactive pollution

An analysis was made of biodiversity changes and long-term ecological after-effects of radioactive pollution in the former USSR (Russia, Ukraine, Kazachstan) from 1968 to 1994. All types of radioactive pollution have strong negative effects on permanently soil-dwelling invertebrates, mammal populations, and bird reproduction. An initial reduction of animal biodiversity and community structure in Southern Ural (Kyshtym) and in the Chernobyl area was observed, followed by a slow return to the previous conditions. Secondary changes and side-effects on the most active migratory populations of insects, birds and mammals were recorded. The most convenient bioindicators for assessing the ecological effects and environmental quality of sites polluted by radioactive materials appear to be non-migratory animal populations, such as reptiles, earthworms, myriapodes, woodlice, and soil microarthropods.