>> 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.
I'm amazed. On the big island of Hawaii, there were recent lava flows with green plants coming up from crevices and cracks. Not just moss or lichens, but flowering plants com ing up from what looked like the Moon. Like, just a few years after the lava flow. The invasive species apparently could grow in a little grit, and the year after that, their roots left behind partly organic soil. But the slope was very gradual, there were frequent very light rains, and the whole island must be full of species evolved to be the first ones to colonize lava.
I wonder what makes those burnt patches slow to grow back?
>> There is air and water, but few organics.
Hmm! Blown dust, seepage, bird poop and lichens ought to enable a few species to get their fingernails in ... I wonder why not. Maybe the ashes cause so much alkalinity that most things can't take it. Or by the time the caustic ashes are leached away, soil components (dust and sand) are also washed down-slope. You said "rugged".
Plus, I read that forests only grow where the soil is so poor that nothing else can gro3w, not even grasses. Not sure that's true, but it came from some article about "land usage". If you couldn't even create a pasture or field of grass, trees would still grow there.
>> there are no absolutes, but a lot of variables.
That's the truth! Also, "there are exceptions to every rule".
