Nature turns bomb craters into ecological habitats
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 6
Nature turns bomb craters into ecological habitats
6 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 6
At London’s Walthamstow Marshes, a 1945 V2 crater now supports rare species, while researchers estimate Ukraine has millions of craters after Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Ecologists say small, clean ponds can quickly become biodiversity hotspots, but Ukrainian scientists warn many craters also damage fertile soils, disrupt microbes and leave unexploded ordnance.
Experts say many Ukrainian craters should be filled, yet forest and wetland craters can retain water for years, creating habitat mosaics seen previously in Britain and Belgium.
Can Ukraine's millions of toxic craters ever become the thriving biodiversity hotspots that WWII bomb ponds are today?
From WWII bomb ponds to Ukraine's toxic soil, has modern war broken nature's ability to heal itself?
From War Scars to Wetlands: How 112 Hungarian Bomb Craters Sustain Rare Species and Biodiversity Networks
Overview
Since 2022, the conflict in Ukraine has created numerous bomb craters that quickly fill with water, forming accidental wetlands which provide new habitats for diverse species like amphibians and fairy shrimp. However, these craters also suffer from destroyed topsoil, heavy metal contamination, and unexploded ordnance, posing long-term environmental and safety challenges. Restoration is slow and costly, requiring careful decontamination. In Hungary, older bomb crater ponds in sodic meadows have evolved into important refuges for rare species, with biodiversity boosted by the ponds' spatial network. Managing these war-altered landscapes demands coordinated efforts in UXO clearance, contamination cleanup, and ecological restoration to transform scars of war into resilient ecosystems.