Почему мы каждый жаркий сезон слышим о пожарах в Греции?

Greek flora loves fire! As strange and terrifying as it may sound! And human activity over the past 3,000 years has played a significant role in this.

The entire Mediterranean biome cannot exist without fire. Most native plants have tough leaves that do not decompose for years after falling; when seeds land on this mass of dry foliage, they simply lie there and bide their time, waiting for fire—they are pyrophytes! After the dry biomass is consumed by fire, the seeds reach the ash-fertilized soil and germinate.

Furthermore, some seeds, such as those of rockroses, have a seed coat that opens only under the influence of fire. The occurrence of fire is also facilitated by plants containing high amounts of essential oils.

Some pyrophytes do not strictly depend on fire but have adapted to survive it easily. The cork oak, for example, has developed a thick bark that acts as thermal insulation; the strawberry tree has a basal swelling, a lignotuber, which contains a large number of dormant buds and a reserve of nutrients. The paradox is that human conservation efforts and fire suppression have led to a massive accumulation of dry plant biomass—fuel for a giant blaze, unlike regular, rapid surface fires.