Rick ....
>>>>Almost no matter what we do, short of biocidal toxins, any time soil can get some air, some water and some organics, really complex soil populations arise and cooperate to produce FERTILE soil. And if there was only rock to start with, lichens work until there is soil.
This may be a true statement, but it may take billions of years before the soil is really alive and fertile.
I couldn't have said that a week ago with such certainty. Last Friday, my grandson and I went up to the back country where there had been a wildfire well over a decade ago to harvest some trees for my winter fire wood. When we reached the wildfire area, all I could see for miles were tall, dead trees and absolutely no undergrowth. No grasses, no wild flowers .... nothing. There were no birds, no animals. It was one of the most devastating things I've ever seen.
My grandson told me the land will continue to show little or no life for several lifetimes.
There is air and water, but few organics.
There was some star thistle growing along side the road, a few very young black oak trees scattered here and there, the digger pines which are adapted to wildfire country and that was it. When I reached down to pick up some soil, it's texture was the same as the ashes I remove from my fireplace when I clean it.
The trees we harvested were dead and not even infested with insects.
Most fires up here are started by lightening. It's almost impossible to put them out because the land is so rugged.
I garden in difficult soil, but even my horrid soil can be brought back to life.
I came away from that experience knowing that there are no absolutes, but a lot of variables.
Lyn
