Morphometric Indicators of Pine Needles 35 Years after the Chernobyl Accident

Thirty-five years after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the morphometric indicators of the needles of Scots pine growing on the territory of the Polesye State Radiation-Ecological Reserve in Gomel’ oblast of Belarus were evaluated. In 2021, the variability of needles in length and weight, the indices of fluctuating asymmetry, and the frequency and degree of damage to needles by necrosis at three impact and two control plots were studied. The power of the equivalent ambient dose of gamma radiation was from 0.25 to 9.85 μSv/h at a height of 1 m at the impact plots. The length and weight of needles, the indices of fluctuating asymmetry in the studied populations had significant differences from the control values, but did not demonstrate a relationship with the radiation exposure. The frequency of needles heavily damaged by necrosis in the most radioactively contaminated sites is significantly higher than both controls. Thus, even 35 years after the accident, populations of Scots pine, which is one of the most radiosensitive plant species, can be detected to have morphological changes associated with radiation exposure.