how it affected the ecosystem

The photo is illustrative

tshooter/Depositphotos

More than 50% of the territory of the Kakhov reservoir is currently covered by young willow forests. The moist soil of the bare bottom turned out to be an ideal environment for seed germination.

As told in an interview with “Ukrinform”, ecologist Ivan Moisienko, who, together with other scientists, is researching areas of the Kamianska Sich National Nature Park, said that the negative predictions about the reservoir did not come true.

“It was predicted that when the reservoir dries up, dust storms will begin. Taking into account the discharges of enterprises located in Kryvyi Rih, it was expected that there will be heavy metals in the air. Another prediction was about soil salinization. The third was about the mass spread of invasive plant species.” – noted Ivan Moisienko.

However, according to him, local species are currently dominant there.

The expert also noted that the willow was able to actively sow the bottom of the reservoir, because the explosion of the Kakhovskaya HPP occurred at the very time its seeds were ripening. These trees surround almost the entire reservoir in a dense strip.

“I was amazed at how fast the trees grew: the height reached 2.5 meters, and in some places – even 3.08 meters!” – said Moisienko.

In the place of former watercourses and lakes, swamps were formed, where plants characteristic of them appeared: reed, rush, bulbomysh and others.

According to the scientist, swamp communities in this area consist mainly of local species. Alien plants grow in drier areas. They exist, but there are not many of them.

We used to toldat the bottom of the Kakhovsky Reservoir, the remains of an ancient Cossack church, which was once painted by Taras Shevchenko, were discovered.