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Influence of long-term chronic exposure and weather conditions on Scots pine populations

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Abstract

Over a period of 8 years (2007–2014), we were evaluating seed quality and morphological abnormalities in Scots pine trees affected as a result of the Chernobyl accident. The calculated dose rates for the trees at the study sites varied from background values at the reference sites to 40 mGy/year at the most contaminated site. We investigated whether radioactive contamination and/or weather factors could decrease the reproductive capacity or increase the frequency of morphological abnormalities of needles in pine trees. Scots pine seeds are characterized by high interannual variability of viability, which is largely determined by weather conditions. No consistent differences in reproductive capacity were detected between the impacted and reference populations. Brachyblasts with three needles were found only in the affected populations; however, their frequency was very low and only at the very border of significance at the p < 0.10 level.

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Acknowledgements

The present study was supported by Russian Scientific Foundation (grant 14-14-00666). The authors greatly appreciate the comments made by two anonymous referees.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Russian Institute of Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe shosse, 109 km, 249020, Obninsk, Russia

    Stanislav Geras’kin, Denis Vasiliyev, Ekaterina Makarenko, Polina Volkova & Alexey Kuzmenkov

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  1. Stanislav Geras’kin
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  2. Denis Vasiliyev
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  3. Ekaterina Makarenko
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  4. Polina Volkova
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  5. Alexey Kuzmenkov
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Correspondence to Stanislav Geras’kin.

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Responsible editor: Georg Steinhauser

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Geras’kin, S., Vasiliyev, D., Makarenko, E. et al. Influence of long-term chronic exposure and weather conditions on Scots pine populations. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 11240–11253 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8692-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8692-3

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