Wildfires are an increasing concern across most of the Southwestern United States and many other parts of the world — but scientists have made an encouraging discovery, with insights about how ecosystems and communities can recover from them.
As detailed in Earth Island Journal, desert ecologist Benjamin Wilder and his collaborators found an unexpected level of resiliency when examining desert plant recovery following major fires. The researchers studied the aftermath of 2020's Bighorn Fire and Bush Fire, among others.
"One of the things that has become very clear to me about post-fire recovery, or lack thereof, is that we cannot paint a broad brush," Wilder told Earth Island Journal in a late-May report. "Certain areas seem to be quite altered post-fire, and other areas seem to have a bit more of a trajectory to recovery, with more natives coming in."
Wilder is the director of the multinational, multidisciplinary group Next Generation Sonoran Desert Researchers. The coalition is dedicated to what is called biocultural conservation, which centers connections between ecologies and cultures.
The differences across the post-fire outcomes that Wilder and his colleagues analyzed appeared to involve the specific landscapes in question and the nature of the fires as well as the plant types.
According to the findings of their study, published in 2024, the researchers showed that "while many succulent cacti, ocotillos, and young saguaros do not survive or readily regenerate after a fire, nearly 80% of perennial species in Mojave and Sonoran desertscrub communities have been observed resprouting." The species that demonstrated unexpected resilience included palo verde, crucifixion thorn, and velvet mesquite, per Earth Island, all of which have a role to play in the regrowth of certain damaged plants post-fire.
This surprising discovery offers practical insight for recovery efforts and optimism that desert landscapes can be restored in the wake of destruction.
As human-caused climate change drives up the frequency and intensity of such disasters, it can be easy to question the efficacy of prevention and rebuilding. Evidence that plants can power through existential threats to nurture each other in biodiverse ecosystems provides tangible tools for the path forward and an encouraging model for local and global action.
"We've been ringing the alarm bells in order to get attention, in order to get money and policy changes that we need before it's too late. And it is alarming and scary," Molly McKormick of the Southwest Fire Science Consortium told Earth Island Journal. "But the thing is, we wouldn't do that if there wasn't a whole lot of hope and amazing people."
|
Do you worry about air pollution in and around your home? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Yes — always 💯 
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
Cool Picks
