Educational institution
On May 18, 1980, after two months of grumbling, Mount St. Helens erupted and this blast profoundly changed the looks of the vast area around the volcano. This cataclysm, though being tremendously devastating: killing 57 people, flattering 230 square miles of forests and blowing 1,300 feet off the peak, provided the perfect background for studying the early stages of forest’s development as well as the process of eco system regeneration after such a vital act of devastation. Right after the eruption occurred, some areas got absolutely avoid of life; on the other parts some species survived, but in very small numbers. When the question on what to do next aroused, the authorities decided to implicate a salvage logging program on some blast area lands, but not within the 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument established by Congress in 1982; for economy, the salvage logging helped to recoup some of the lost timber revenue, but ecologically, it led to a completely different forest environment than the one inside the monument. Scientists have also learned that the effect of the volcanic ash that coated the fallen trees, actually did reduce the flammability and served as an effective insecticide; also a huge amount of plants and trees were replanted in private estates, which helped to area to partially return to its initial condition, but other than that no other actions were taken and natural regeneration has been allowed to proceed on its own.
Despite the fact, that nothing else has been done by a hand of human being, the eco system did great on its own, recovering itself way faster, than it was initially forecasted by the scientists. And that is where a really exciting question is arising of how possibly could had that happened and foremost, why?
Some might say that this unusual process was caused by the eco-system pollution done by a human being, but from my point of view the answer to this question is a lot simpler and in fact is rooted to the well known phenomenon as evolution. The nature had simply adjusted itself to the environment, the organisms have been living in for millions of years, overcoming the numerous eruptions, ash rains. All of the organisms on our planet work and evolve in the same way; just like humans evolved throughout the history. Basically, I would have to say that there is nothing so unusual about this process, just common nature at work.
References
Dale V. H., (spring 2010). Mount St. Helens 30 Years Later: A Landscape Reconfigured. Science Update, 19.
