Primary rainforest contra an area of previous rainforest where, over 50 years ago Agent Orange was sprayed and no new trees are yet growing!

50 years+ on, primary rain forest, top right, compare to lower left where the odd trees survive from Agent Orange spraying to defoliate. No tree regrowth!

comments (3)

Christine Young

Lion

Horrifying. I read that it can persist in subsurface soil for up to a 100 years, possibly longer.

From Wikipedia:
"The persistent nature of dioxins, erosion caused by loss of tree cover, and loss of seedling forest stock meant that reforestation was difficult (or impossible) in many areas. Many defoliated forest areas were quickly invaded by aggressive pioneer species (such as bamboo and cogon grass), making forest regeneration difficult and unlikely. Animal species diversity was also impacted; in one study a Harvard biologist found 24 species of birds and 5 species of mammals in a sprayed forest, while in two adjacent sections of unsprayed forest there were, respectively, 145 and 170 species of birds and 30 and 55 species of mammals. Dioxins from Agent Orange have persisted in the Vietnamese environment since the war, settling in the soil and sediment and entering the food chain through animals and fish which feed in the contaminated areas. The movement of dioxins through the food web has resulted in bioconcentration and biomagnification."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange#:~:text=Ecological%20impact,-See%20also:%20Environmental&text=About%2017.8%25%20or%203%2C100%2C000%20hectares,are%20former%20U.S.%20air%20bases. Posted 3 months ago
1. NattyOne
  
  Lion
  
  Thank you Christine, yes there have also been studies done on some of the douc langurs, I think the Black-shanked have been more studied. Not read the details though. Horrible stuff and of course, there's masses of information on it and homo sapiens!! Posted 3 months ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    I noticed that -- when looking it up, I had to be very specific in my search terms because most of what popped up was the effect on humans. Posted 3 months ago