Hi Steemians,

You would probably see news in social media or in your televisions on how wildfires destroyed forests. They also incinerated crops and agriculture. They even burn your precious timbers into ashes.
Indeed, this blazing inferno has cost us millions worth of properties. This representation of hell on land is a scary sight to behold.

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I'm gonna say it now and I'm gonna say it here. I am not talking about those man-induced wildfires. This is when some camper left the stove burning or threw a live cigarette butt in dry grasses. I'm not also talking about some group of people who slept near a bonfire then unfortunately wind blew and scattered the flames.

These wildfires are a product of carelessness. They are an output of an ever growing breed of people who wants to experience nature yet they don't want to preserve it. There are also some people who would play with fireworks to celebrate and yet don't anticipate its consequences and possibilities. These incidents are even deemed as "accidents" because they don't know that its gonna happen.

What I'm referring to are natural or controlled wildfires that are actually beneficial in nature and is part of its ecological cycle.

HOW ARE THEY FORMED?

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Much of the formation of wildfires is attributed by people's carelessness.
There are instances though that it is just part of a natural cycle. These factors include drought, strong winds, lighting strikes and dry weather. We all know that fire needs fuel and oxygen from air to complete the combustion process. Wildfires are then formed with a combination of these factors and is just waiting for that ignition to happen.

WHY ARE THEY BENEFICIAL?

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Many might not know this but wildfires cause renewals. The flourishing of a much better forest ecosystem is caused by this fiery event. To understand how forests are formed, kindly check my previous article here. I discussed there about succession.

Aside from forming forests, wildfires also has a number of other benefits. We all thought of a healthy forest to be perfect, if not close to it. Unfortunately, it isn't. The distribution of nutrients is slowed down by some dead vegetation: dead trees and plant matter. Fire turns these vegetation into ashes and brings back nutrients to the soil other then being captive. Raging fires also clear the underbrush allowing sunlight to penetrate deeper into forest floors. This will then encourage the growth of native species. Wildflowers can then bloom abundantly as invasive weeds and/or insects are either drove away or killed by fire. These weeds and insects have all along causing damage to old growth. In forests, competition is really a thing. The tallest trees can produce canopies that will hinder the rather inferior trees to survive. These fires can then clear those umbrella like structure and enable to younger trees to survive. Wildfires are also vital because the remnants of burned trees offer attractive habitats to birds and small mammals. Due to the leaching of nutrients in the soil, i also fuels the birth of new plants.

You see, there are always two sides of the coin when dealing with nature. Nature indeed has its ways to cope up with stress and deal with its own problems. The ecosystems are independent and surely does not need human intervention. Nature can thrive to exist without human beings so we must do our best to co-exist and not be the cause of damage that we ourselves suffer.

...until next nature-related article...

Reference:
https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/how-forest-fire-benefit-living-things-2.htm