Unprecedented fires have ravaged parts of Australia for months. At least fifty crore wild animals have died. There is no calculation of how many trees and how many insects have been burnt.
About six and a half million hectares of land have been burnt. One hectare is roughly like a football field. But in some areas, traces of life have been found through the ashes. Grass and tree saplings have started to grow little by little.
Photographer Marie Lowe visited the coastal Kulnara area near New South Wales, Australia.
Walking on the ashes of the fire on the ground in these areas, you can see only green buds growing on the green grass and burnt tree trunks.
The 71-year-old photographer has shared the photo thousands of times after posting it on social media. This news has given hope to the people in the midst of this terrible disaster.
A retired former vehicle engineer took pictures while sitting as a hobby. Mr. Lowe went to take pictures of nature destroyed by fire. He stopped at Dhurag National Park as he drove along Kulnar Road.
He was saying, "As I walked past the burning tree trunks in a kind of supernatural silence, ashes flew from the ground into the air with every step I took. To leave a devastating impression that a terrible fire could do."
Seeing new grass and buds sprouting, he seemed to regain hope. He was saying, "This is the sign of revival we were wishing for. I witnessed the moment of rebirth of a forest."
The 15,000-hectare Dhurag National Park is home to some species of plants that grow only in Australia.
University of Sheffield environmental science teacher. Kimberly Simpson explained that the nature of different parts of Australia has dealt with such wildfires for billions of years.
Fancy way of survival of nature, buds hidden deep in the trunk of the tree.
So they had to acquire the ability to survive through evolution.
Dr. Simpson says burnt trees try to adapt in two ways from adversity. One is through germination, which is clearly seen in the pictures.
A special feature of some species of trees in Australia, including eucalyptus, is that the buds are hidden deep in their trunks.
It is a kind of survival method so that even if the outer part of the tree trunk is burnt, the bud survives.
Grass and many species of shrubs have roots hidden far below the ground. When the fire is extinguished, it is possible for them to sprout quickly.
The second method is through fire resistant seeds. Many trees have this ability to seed.
And from the ash they get a lot of nutrients for the plant. Because of that the burnt area can quickly turn green again.
However, these seeds will now need rain to germinate. But there has been no rain in the Kulnara area since the fire started.
At least 50 million wildlife have died in wildfires in Australia.
Will it happen in all areas of Australia affected by the fire?
Some trees die quickly after being burned, but many trees take a long time. However, the kind of devastating wildfires that have occurred in Australia this time around have raised concerns about the survival of the trees that have gained resilience through evolution, he said. Simpson.
He says the temperature that the fire has reached, as well as the ongoing drought, could wipe out many plants. He thinks, "The issue may go beyond the resilience of different species. Maybe that's why we're seeing the extinction of some species."
Australia's rainforests in particular could be affected as there is no experience of such forest fires. So their fire resistance is also low.
