When researching lightning, the topic of fire often comes up. What role does fire play in nature, where humans do not use fire? Just as lightning provides nitrogen to areas where it strikes, and volcanoes provide calcium through ash, fire seems to be important to nature. In dry environments, dead plants cannot be broken down by microorganisms, so they end up covering the ground and preventing other plants from growing. Fire burns and removes these dead and fallen plants.
https://wired.jp/2021/08/31/wildfires-used-to-be-helpful-how-did-they-get-so-hellish
Moderate fire is necessary for the forest ecosystem, as trees with thick bark survive and diseased trees are burned to create new soil. It prevents certain species from growing excessively, increases the amount of sunlight that can penetrate, and allows new shoots to sprout from the charcoal left behind by the burn. When I think of natural fire, I imagine fires caused by lightning, forest fires caused by dry, intense heat, and flames from volcanic eruptions, which are often powerful and almost like a disaster, but it turns out there is such a thing as a moderate range of fire.
https://hibi-ki.co.jp/sugisensei018
When forests and grasslands burn, in addition to improving the soil with ash, removing growth-inhibiting substances, and changing light conditions, it can also promote seed germination and sprout growth. It seems that compounds contained in plant ash and smoke promote the germination of dormant seeds and the growth of young plants. Is burning something that plants can expect? It’s as if there is a system that assumes coexistence with fire.
https://www.naro.affrc.go.jp/archive/niaes/magazine/163/mgzn16306.html
Also, in cases where fire is a given, there is a plant called banksia that uses heat stimuli such as fire to disperse its seeds. The high temperature of the fire causes the shells to open up, scattering the seeds and causing them to sprout. Seed dispersal that uses fire is called Serotiny. The seeds are designed to sprout after the fire has died down. Plants that are fire-resistant or that use fire are called pyrophytes.
https://epinesis.net/archives/69792912.html
And there are birds that use fire to catch food. A bird called a fire-hawk carries burning branches in its beak and catches prey as they flee from the fire. There are also insects that have heat sensors at the base of their legs and are attracted to trees that have been burned by wildfires.
https://nazology.kusuguru.co.jp/archives/2066
If plants, insects, and animals that existed before humans started using fire had systems that used fire, then the phenomenon of fire would have been incorporated into ecosystems and various cycles. The Earth has magma, and high-temperature energy is an important part of nature. Fire is thought to be indispensable for humans, but it may also be necessary for many forms of life on Earth. Fire is amazing. The Earth is amazing.
