Coconut trees on both sides of a path

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   mk30@regenerate.social's status on Saturday, 24-Aug-2024 14:28:41 JST mk30

   #nature #ecology #restoration #hawaii #environment #plants #land

   Q: How long does it take for life to come back on a lava flow?

   A: it depends on many factors, including whether humans are helping the process.

   Looking at the 1990 lava flow at kaimu/kalapana on Hawai'i Island, we can see differences in places where humans have planted things, brought in soil, built up little rock walls to hold soil, etc.

   Pic 1: typical section of the lava. As you can see, 20 years after the flow, very little life has come back. This is a harsh environment for most plants: heavy sun, heavy wind, and no soil.

   Unaided by humans, seeds from little ferns and other plants drift and fall into cracks and low areas in the lava. These low areas provide enough protection from the elements to allow baby plants to grow. But without soil, only the plants most adapted to these environments will make it. And the process takes a long time.

   You can see the difference in places where people have planted trees and brought in soil.

   Pic 2 shows a breadfruit tree with a bunch of dragon fruit growing around its base. The breadfruit is planted in a crack in the lava.

   Pic 3 shows coconut planted on both sides of a path. Coconuts are capable of growing in this kind of environment. They are a common tree that people plant on new lava. As you can see, some of these are already quite large!

   Pic 4 shows noni - another plant that's well-adapted to this environment. These are some unripe noni fruit. Noni is not very tasty at any stage of ripeness (and smells awful when fully ripe), but it makes a fermented juice that is medicinal. Given how few things can be planted and just left to grow on the lava, noni is a good choice.

   Plants like coconut, noni, and even breadfruit can start building a canopy on new lava, and provide useful products for people.

   Plants like pineapple, dragon fruit, ti, and Cuban oregano can be grown under them (like in pic 2). This is how humans can help bring life back to lava.

   Let this land remind you that it's much easier to destroy an ecosystem than it is to regrow one.

   But humans CAN assist that process. With careful planting and care, life can return to lava faster than one would think. No one is eating from these plants yet (probably), but the process is on its way 🌋🌞🌧️🌴.