[en] Full text: The intent of this presentation was to provide a broad review of the status of existing knowledge on the effects of ionizing radiation on plants and animals, in the context of field rather than laboratory settings, and to offer thoughts on what more we need to learn in order to set protection criteria and test for compliance with greater confidence. General findings from historical studies on designed and accidental irradiation of plant communities and animals, including comparative radiosensitivity and modifying factors, were reviewed. Experimental limitations of most studies and difficulties in response interpretation were discussed in reference to ecological relevance and protection criteria. Recovery of radiation damaged plant communities and animal populations, both during and after radiation exposure, were discussed. The commonly measured responses, mortality and reproduction, were reviewed and questioned as the most radiosensitive, ecologically-relevant endpoints. Our perceptions of major knowledge gaps on effects of ionizing radiation on the environment were reviewed, and the types of specific studies that appear needed were presented. These needs were discussed under the general headings of dosimetry, damage endpoints, and dose/response relationships. In the area of dosimetry for example, more work is needed on critical species identification, dose model refinements to account for temporal and spatial dose distribution, and RBEs for various damage endpoints. It is known that biological effects such as genomic damage occur in organisms at dose rates well-below those required to obviously impair reproduction. The question is, are such effects harmful to populations in the irradiated generation or in succeeding generations, and if so, under what conditions? Many species and ecosystems have not been experimentally irradiated, either with relatively uniform photon exposures from sealed sources, or from radioactive contamination, which produces large dose variations in space and time. Finally, very little, if anything, is known about whether and to what extent chemical and other stresses interact with the stress of chronic irradiation. (author)