The nuclear disaster that happened in Chernobyl, Ukraine 28 years ago is still having an effect on the wildlife and the ecosystem. A team of researchers has published a study about how the forests in and around Chernobyl are decomposing slower, and some areas show almost no signs of decay.

The nuclear disaster that happened in Chernobyl, Ukraine 28 years ago is still having an effect on the wildlife and the ecosystem.

A team of researchers has published a study about how the forests in and around Chernobyl are decomposing slower, and some areas show almost no signs of decay.

Researchers collected tree leaves from an uncontaminated area and placed them in bags scattered throughout Chernobyl’s exclusion zone with varying levels of radiation to compare how they would decompose over the course of a year.

Leaves placed in areas with the highest radiation levels lost less than half of their weight after a year of being left to rot, while leaves from areas with no radiation decomposed by 70 to 90 percent, even after controlling for factors including temperature, soil and humidity.

This is because radiation prevents the growth of organisms such as microbes, certain insects and fungi that are necessary for decomposition.

The number of leaves accumulating on the forest floor along with wood that isn’t rotting creates a fire hazard.

A forest fire could spread the radioactive contaminants beyond what is called the Zone of Alienation, which is a thousand square mile area that has the highest level of radiation poisoning.

Previous studies have shown that birds inside the Zone of Alienation have smaller brains along with other abnormalities, and most insects don’t live there.