Radioecology and Environmental Protection by A. S. SzabóReview by: Pavel KovářFolia Geobotanica & Phytotaxonomica, Vol. 31, No. 1, Adaptation Strategies in Wetland Plants:Links between Ecology and Physiology. Proceedings of a Workshop (1996), p. 168Published by: SpringerStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4181434 .

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168 Bookreviews

biology and genetics, which now offer new insights into lichen symbiosis research. A review of isolation and culture methods is appended.

Ahmadjian's new book is a comprehensive review of all aspects of lichen symbiosis. It is not only a collection of facts but the author also raises many questions which have not yet been answered. The exhaustive literature list is most valuable (almost one quarter of the book !) including over 1000 references mostly published after the first edition; they provide a guide-line for future study.

Jiri Liika

A.S. Szab6: RADIOECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; Akademiai Kiad6, Budapest, 1993, 258 pp., 36 Figs. Price USD 32.-, ISBN 963-05-6311-8

Radioecology, like ecotoxicology, is a part of a branch of science dealing with the transport of substances within ecosystems. To manage biogeochemical cycles requires a high standard of relevant knowledge. This has evoked an explosive increase in "deposition studies" during the last thirty or forty years and a frequent subject of recent investigations into pollution is the process of "self-cleaning" in nature.

In his most important Chapter 2, the author gives a list of the main components of ecosystems and evaluates the effect of different factors influencing either natural or artificial radioactivity. The subjects listed, however, include non-comparable entities: the basic components of the ecosystem, e.g. atmosphere, water, soil, plants and/or animals on the one hand, and the complex process of radionuclide transportation, such as in the food-chain between soil and plant, on the other. It would have been better if he had considered (1) the older (more "classical") approach used in pollution science which is related to the above mentioned ecosystem structures and/or to their response to the impact of pollution, and (2) the more recent approach which concerns rather the functioning of a given natural subsystem as an active entity in the transport of substances. This division is justifiable also on the basis of different methodological backgrounds. What a pity that this chapter - the bulk of the book - does not provide a special section concerning: conclusions for biomonitoring, which is such a frequent topic for regeneration and restoration practices. Nevertheless, I highly appreciate those chapters describing the relationship between the half-life of radionuclides and biological half-lives, between food-production processes and the contamination level, and somatic and genetic radiation damage.

An important part of the book, from the viewpoint of (Central) European collaboration in the field, is the informative chapter on radioecological research and organisations in Hungary. Regional focusses are oriented not only to the Chernobyl accident and the Danube river basin pollution, but also to the overall territorial background of environmental contamination.

The final chapter raises questions rather than provides answers: Are nuclear power plants dangerous to the environment? Can we calculate the biopositive effect of low-level radiation? What do nuclear techniques mean for the future - risk or improvement? The Nuclear Act as a legislative tool states that the application of nuclear energy can be utilized efficiently and economically under specified circumstances. Control of user behaviour is the necessary assumption for any further development of nuclear technology. The book is equipped with a useful Glossary and References containing a substantial number of citations dealing with radioactivity. It is highly recommended for both technologists and biologists concerned with the environment.

Pavel Kova;

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