One hot Saturday

[Kwacky]

it'll be interesting to see how the insect/invert population responds. I should imagine they've been decimated. There's all those dean animals to deal with as well.

[Jack]

I imagine that there are species of plant that have evolved to take advantage of fires much like the giant Sequoia

[D41]

Sure, forest fires clear out a load of old plant debris....brush, dead trees, etc., and return it back to the soil as "nutrients which fertilize" or something like that.
Circle of life, etc.

[Kwacky]

I'm looking at it from a creepy crawlie perspective. Bush fires, forest fires etc happen and some plants respond to this. It's the life they've adapted to. Lots of seeds have fireproof protection. So a few plants will be fine and they'll establish themselves.

The big issue with the Aussie fires is the extent. A normal fire burns out eventually and there's nearby pockets left unscathed. The plants and animals from those areas can move into the torched parts as they start to recover.

You don't have that option here as some scorched areas are massive.

Which brings in another problem - soil erosion.

[D41]

Indeed. Winter comes, it rains, and the newly-bare earth on hills causes landslides, mudslides, and other fun stuff like that. There's a "creeping-plant-vine-thingy" they plant a lot of over here.
Can't think of the name of it. Dammit.

[duke63]

I would guess that the recovery from this will be measured in possibly decades unless Australia has a few wet years on the trot, which must be pretty unlikely.

It’s the sort of happening that can change things permanently when it’s on the scale it has been.

[kiwikrasher]

A brilliant clip but very NSFW due to language

Sorry to non FB users, couldn’t find another version anywhere.

https://fbwat.ch/1QaHMLiyIOEYCyuQ

[kiwikrasher]

So had a bit of a 4WD today through the area behind me that was hit by fire. It’s been about 7 months now since they went through.

The images graphically show how controlled burns for hazard reduction are so important and the ramifications for fauna and flora if they aren’t carried out and then a fire hits

This is an unburnt area

This is an area that had a controlled burn for containment lines. If you zoom in you can see the lower trunks blackened. But because it was a controlled burn and the intensity controlled, plenty of life survives and it’s regenerating fast.

Now this is an area that had an intense uncontrolled fire pass through it. 7 months later and it’s still a waste land

[C00kiemonster]

Wow that's such a difference. Shows how managing the woodland is important. I suppose the soil burns too so there are no nutrients left so stuff struggles to grow afterwards as well?

[kiwikrasher]

Wow that's such a difference. Shows how managing the woodland is important. I suppose the soil burns too so there are no nutrients left so stuff struggles to grow afterwards as well?

Don’t know if it actually burns but would definitely be exposed to intense heat so I guess nutrients would be consumed to a certain depth

[duke63]

There is a good article here about how fire affects the soil. It puts loads of nutrients into the soil in one go but nitrogen is actually lost.

https://www.aessoil.com/how-do-wildfires-affect-soil/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;