Change Agents
Wild areas like forests and prairies naturally grow and change in composition over time. A year-old forest will have a different set of plants and animals living in it than a forest that's 40 years old. A disturbance like a wildfire can serve as a sort of reset button, letting an old forest be born again, says Kennedy. And "a lot of species require that reset." (See National Geographic's wildfire pictures.)
Exactly what happens after a fire occurs depends on the landscape, the severity of the fire, and the species involved. But the event always sparks a succession of changes as plants, microbes, fungi, and other organisms recolonize the burned land. As trees and plants age, light and other features change—and the composition of creatures in the area changes in response.
A photo of a cow walking among burning grass during the Rim Fire in Yosemite.