RED FIRE: radioactive environment damaged by fire: a forest in recovery

Radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident killed a 4-6 km2 area of coniferous forest. This area, now known as the 'Red Forest', subsequently regenerated with understorey vegetation and deciduous trees; it is the most anthropogenically-contaminated radioactive ecosystem on Earth. In July 2016, a severe fire burnt c. 80% of the Red Forest to varying degrees and presented a unique opportunity to study: the effect of fire on radionuclide mobility/bioavailability; and the impact of radiation on the recovery of forest ecosystems exposed to a secondary stressor (fire)