How does a forest grow back after a fire?
Forest's Secret Comeback
How does a forest grow back after a fire?
After a wildfire sweeps through, the forest looks like a black-and-gray graveyard. Charred tree trunks stand like burnt matchsticks. The ground is covered in ash. It seems impossible that anything could ever grow here again.
But hidden in that ash is a secret: fire unlocks the soil. All those years, dead leaves and branches piled up on the forest floor, holding nutrients prisoner. The fire broke them down into mineral-rich ash — instant fertilizer, now sitting right on the surface where new roots can reach it.
