Mammals in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone's Red Forest: a motion-activated camera trap study

• Published in: Earth system science data Vol. 15; no. 2; pp. 911 - 920
• Main Authors: Beresford, Nicholas A, Gashchak, Sergii, Wood, Michael D, Barnett, Catherine L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 23-02-2023; Copernicus Publications
• Subjects: Anthropogenic factors; Birds; Cameras; Cervus elaphus; Data centers; Datasets; Deer; Elk; Environmental information; Environmental restoration; Exclusion zones; Forests; Human populations; Information centres; Insects; Mammals; Metadata; Movement; Nuclear accidents; Nuclear accidents & safety; Nuclear energy; Nuclear power plants; Radiation; Radiation dosage; Radiation effects; Radioactive contamination; Radioactive pollution; Species; Wildfires; Wildlife
• ISSN: 1866-3516; 1866-3508; 1866-3516
• DOI: 10.5194/essd-15-911-2023

Since the accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986, there have been few studies published on medium and large mammals inhabiting the area from which the human population was removed (now referred to as the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, CEZ). The dataset presented in this paper describes a motion-activated camera trap study (n=21 cameras) conducted from September 2016 to September 2017 in the Red Forest located within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. The Red Forest, which is likely the most anthropogenically contaminated radioactive terrestrial ecosystem on earth, suffered a severe wildfire in July 2016. The motion-activated trap cameras were therefore in place as the Red Forest recovered from the wildfire. A total of 45 859 images were captured, and of these 19 391 contained identifiable species or organism types (e.g. insects). A total of 14 mammal species were positively identified together with 23 species of birds (though birds were not a focus of the study).