Is there any hope for environments destroyed by forest fires? What if the answer was in a world we can't see?
After the horrific 2018 Holy Fire in California, researchers set out in the hope of finding some living organisms within the thick layers of ash. They found fungi species that thrive after the first year following a fire. This urged UCR mycologists to continue studying the scar of the fire.
Later, microbes were discovered that have the ability to consume methane gases. These post-fire organisms called methanotrophic bacteria (shown on the right) rely on methane for energy and can assist in reducing greenhouse gases. They found that the genes responsible for metabolizing methane doubled post-megafire conditions.
Microbes that need other gases such as nitrogen tend to flourish in these environments as well. As they revisited the forest fire area in the coming year, fast-growing species were emerging and producing an abundance of spores. This leads to new growth and a hope for a future environment.
Since microbes hadn't been examined after forest fires, more possibilities have opened up involving other living creatures. A forest fire in a way can be compared to the human gut microbiome. When an individual suffers an illness and takes antibiotics, these kill the good bacteria residing in the gut. New bacteria that were either barely present or not there at all can begin to outnumber the regular gut flora. A gut microbiome can either return to its normal state or be completely changed after the use of antibiotics.
Our gut microbiome can be easily compared to an outdoor environment. Similar to how we're unsure how the gut will heal post-antibiotic use, can be related to an area after a forest fire. One of the original authors of the research paper stated, “Things can recover, but it takes time, and whether or not the land recovers after super-frequent megafires is another story. Can recovery time keep pace with megafires? We don’t know yet,” - Glassman
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