Concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere have increased
dramatically over the last century and many of these changes are
attributable to anthropogenic activities. The influence of acid rain has
been well studied, but there has been no extensive exploration of other
pollutants, such as toxic chemicals, heavy metals and radionuclides.
Natural ecosystems, especially forests, tend to accumulate many of these
pollutants which subsequently can affect ecosystem health. These
contaminants may be very damaging to the environment in Eastern Europe,
where the rapid disappearance of forest is the result not only of
contamination but also of poor forest management practices.
The current book is designed to reduce the uncertainty in our current
knowledge of forest radioecology. The three topics it embraces are (a)
Modelling, (b) Measurements and Data, and (c) Countermeasures and Risk
Assessment.