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  • Looking at the aftermath

  • of a wildfire might make you think

  • that no good can come from it.

  • After all, it demolishes homes,

  • displaces thousands of people and animals,

  • and incinerates millions of acres of land.

  • But, believe it or not, there are more benefits

  • to wildfires than meets the eye.

  • For example, some wildlife don't just survive the flames;

  • they actually thrive in the fire's wake.

  • In 2001, wildfires in New Mexico destroyed

  • the endangered Jemez Mountains salamander's habitat.

  • But the population survived by hiding out

  • in nooks and crannies of rocks.

  • It turns out many amphibians and smaller animals

  • who can't outrun the flames take cover in logs,

  • under rocks, or by burying themselves in the dirt.

  • At the other end of the spectrum, large animals

  • like elk and deer flee to streams or lakes for protection.

  • Other animals aren't so lucky.

  • Koalas, for example, will instinctively crawl up trees,

  • trapping themselves in the flames.

  • But wildfires aren't just a threat;

  • they're also an opportunity, especially for predators

  • like bears, raccoons, and raptors

  • who hunt down creatures trying to escape.

  • In fact, it's even been reported

  • that raptors will intentionally spread fires

  • to flush out prey.

  • However, the real benefits of fires come

  • after the flames die down.

  • Pine trees, for example, open up their waxy cones

  • and release their seeds during the fire.

  • But it's the ashes the fire leaves behind

  • that fertilize the soil so the seeds can grow.

  • Moreover, the fire removes debris as well

  • as dead and diseased plants, which exposes the ground

  • to more sunlight in the process.

  • This helps seedlings sprout and can sometimes

  • even spawn thousands of flowers in the fire's wake.

  • And many animals also take advantage

  • of a freshly-burned forest.

  • The charred remains of trees provide the perfect habitat

  • for insects and small wildlife.

  • Wood wasps, for instance, depend on the burned trees

  • to lay their eggs.

  • And other animals like black-backed woodpeckers

  • will actively seek out burned forests for a tasty snack.

  • They binge on bark beetles that live in the dead trees

  • and make their homes in the blackened bark.

  • And while this delicate balance between destruction

  • and new growth has been a way of life for millennia,

  • human interference is changing that.

  • Over the last century, we stifled wildfires

  • so forests became unnaturally overgrown

  • and contained plenty of deadwood just waiting

  • to ignite like a ticking time bomb.

  • This, along with increased temperatures

  • and more droughts, has made wildfires more devastating

  • and frequent than ever before in places like California,

  • making it harder for plants and animals

  • to rebound like they used to.

  • So if we don't start clearing dead vegetation

  • and helping fires run their natural course,

  • we may end up threatening forests and wildlife

  • more than any fire ever could.

Looking at the aftermath

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B2 中高級 美國腔

野火中的動物會發生什麼? (What Happens To Animals During A Wildfire)

  • 60 2
    April Lu 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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