A 24-hour gopher visit caused decades of benefits to volcano grave

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rows-gap"> <h1 class="entry-title row">A 24-hour gopher visit caused decades of benefits to volcano grave</h1> <div class="row primary-image has-featured-image " data-featured-image="1200-16-MSH82_st_helens_plume_from_harrys_ridge_05-19-82.jpg"> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content cols-6 md-cols-1 cols-gap-1 margin-top-1"> <div class="content-left-sidebar cols-1 col"> <section class="contributors md-cols-1 rows-gap"> <div class="row post-date"> <span class="published-date">November 10, 2024</span> </div> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/ellen-phiddian/" class="author row md-hide"> <img src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA0NTAgNDM2IiB3aWR0aD0iNDUwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjQzNiIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjElMkYwMiUyRkVsbGVuLXNtYWxsLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSI0NTAiIGRhdGEtaD0iNDM2IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Ellen Phiddian" width="200" /><noscript data-spai="1"><img src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Ellen-small.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Ellen Phiddian" width="200" /></noscript> <div class="bio"> <h3>Ellen Phiddian</h3> <p>Cosmos science journalist</p> </div> </a> <div id="author-name" class="hide"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/ellen-phiddian/" class="bio"> By Ellen Phiddian </a> </div> <div class="favourite__wrapper row cols"> <button class="showDialog simplefavorite-button" aria-label="Favourite button"> </button> </div> </section> </div> <div class="primary-content cols-1 col-span-5 col"> <div class="flexible-content "> <div class="copy"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="850" height="478" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA4NTAgNDc4IiB3aWR0aD0iODUwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjQ3OCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjMlMkYwNyUyRjg1MC0xNi1NU0g4Ml9zdF9oZWxlbnNfcGx1bWVfZnJvbV9oYXJyeXNfcmlkZ2VfMDUtMTktODIuanBnIiBkYXRhLXc9Ijg1MCIgZGF0YS1oPSI0NzgiIGRhdGEtYmlwPSIiPjwvc3ZnPg==" data-spai="1" alt="Volcano with steam bursting out" class="wp-image-315540" title="a 24-hour gopher visit caused decades of benefits to volcano grave 1" ><noscript data-spai="1"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="850" height="478" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-16-MSH82_st_helens_plume_from_harrys_ridge_05-19-82.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Volcano with steam bursting out" class="wp-image-315540" title="a 24-hour gopher visit caused decades of benefits to volcano grave 1" srcset="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-16-MSH82_st_helens_plume_from_harrys_ridge_05-19-82.jpg 850w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-16-MSH82_st_helens_plume_from_harrys_ridge_05-19-82-600x337.jpg 600w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-16-MSH82_st_helens_plume_from_harrys_ridge_05-19-82-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-16-MSH82_st_helens_plume_from_harrys_ridge_05-19-82-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px"></noscript><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A burst of steam erupting from Mount St Helens in 1982. The volcano erupted catastrophically in 1980, and continued to eject material throughout the early 1980s. Credit: Lyn Topinka</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1980, Mount St Helens <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/earth-sciences/35-years-on-scars-of-mount-st-helens-eruption-remain/" target="_blank" data-type="link" data-id="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/earth-sciences/35-years-on-scars-of-mount-st-helens-eruption-remain/" rel="noreferrer noopener">erupted</a> in the western USA, killing 57 people and destroying 350km<sup>2</sup> of forest.</p> <p>In 1983, scientists captured 2 wild <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/pocket-gopher-farm-roots/" target="_blank" data-type="link" data-id="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/pocket-gopher-farm-roots/" rel="noreferrer noopener">gophers</a>, and put each of them on a small, fenced enclosure on the ruined volcanic plain. They let the gophers dig for 24 hours, then removed them.</p> <p>According to a new study, those 2 tiny interventions have caused benefits to the mountain ecosystem that can still be measured decades later.</p> <p>The study, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frmbi.2024.1399416" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in <em>Frontiers in Microbiomes,</em> has found key differences in the fungi and other <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/biology/megafire-microbes/" target="_blank" data-type="link" data-id="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/biology/megafire-microbes/" rel="noreferrer noopener">microbes</a> inhabiting the old gopher plots.</p> <p>“In the 1980s, we were just testing the short-term reaction,” says study co-author Professor Michael Allen, a microbiologist at the University of California – Riverside, USA, who worked on both the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.1988.12025615" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1983 study</a> and the 2024 update.</p> <p>“Who would have predicted you could toss a gopher in for a day and see a residual effect 40 years later?”</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i0p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="850" height="567" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA4NTAgNTY3IiB3aWR0aD0iODUwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjU2NyIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjMlMkYwNyUyRjg1MC1CYXRjaDExMTEzNTguanBnIiBkYXRhLXc9Ijg1MCIgZGF0YS1oPSI1NjciIGRhdGEtYmlwPSIiPjwvc3ZnPg==" data-spai="1" alt="Gopher at fence" class="wp-image-315539" title="a 24-hour gopher visit caused decades of benefits to volcano grave 2" ><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" width="850" height="567" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-Batch1111358.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Gopher at fence" class="wp-image-315539" title="a 24-hour gopher visit caused decades of benefits to volcano grave 2" srcset="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-Batch1111358.jpg 850w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-Batch1111358-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-Batch1111358-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-Batch1111358-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px"></noscript><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An unhappy gopher and plant near the gopher enclosure fence in 1982. Credit: Michael Allen/UCR</figcaption></figure> <p>The team had theorised, in the 1980s, that gophers might be able to help the soil recover after it was choked by lava and ash. They’d do this by digging through the top layer of debris and bringing helpful microbes to the surface.</p> <p>This worked: 6 years after the intervention, the team found that the ex-gopher plots were covered in plants, while neighbouring land remained thoroughly volcano-scorched.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="850" height="568" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA4NTAgNTY4IiB3aWR0aD0iODUwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjU2OCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjMlMkYwNyUyRjg1MC1Nb3VudC1TdC1IZWxlbnMtMjAxMi1jb3B5LmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSI4NTAiIGRhdGEtaD0iNTY4IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Mountains with greenery in foreground" class="wp-image-315542" title="a 24-hour gopher visit caused decades of benefits to volcano grave 3" ><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" width="850" height="568" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-Mount-St-Helens-2012-copy.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Mountains with greenery in foreground" class="wp-image-315542" title="a 24-hour gopher visit caused decades of benefits to volcano grave 3" srcset="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-Mount-St-Helens-2012-copy.jpg 850w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-Mount-St-Helens-2012-copy-600x401.jpg 600w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-Mount-St-Helens-2012-copy-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-Mount-St-Helens-2012-copy-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px"></noscript><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The once barren area scarred by the volcanic eruption in 2012. Credit: Mike Allen/UCR</figcaption></figure> <p>A big reason for this, says Allen, was the gophers’ ability to return mycorrhizal fungi to the surface.</p> <a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/OP59" class="newsletter-cta" data-device="mobile"> <img decoding="async" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMDAgMjUwIiB3aWR0aD0iMzAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjQlMkYwMyUyRldlZWtseS1DYXRjaHVwLTMwMHgyNTAtMS5wbmciIGRhdGEtdz0iMzAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="Newsletter" title="a 24-hour gopher visit caused decades of benefits to volcano grave 4"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Weekly-Catchup-300x250-1.png" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Newsletter" title="a 24-hour gopher visit caused decades of benefits to volcano grave 4"></noscript> </a> <p>“With the exception of a few weeds, there is no way most plant roots are efficient enough to get all the nutrients and water they need by themselves. The fungi transport these things to the plant and get carbon they need for their own growth in exchange,” says Allen.</p> <p>In 2014, the team returned and sampled soil communities from the gopher plots and neighbouring areas. They found clear differences in the microbial diversity from the gopher and non-gopher spots.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i1p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>They also found a notable difference between areas that had been old-growth forests, and areas that had been clearcut, prior to the volcano catastrophe.</p> <p>The old-growth forests recovered much better than the clearcut areas.</p> <p>“These trees have their own mycorrhizal fungi that picked up nutrients from the dropped needles and helped fuel rapid tree regrowth,” says co-author Associate Professor Emma Aronson, a microbiologist at the University of California, Riverside.</p> <p>“The trees came back almost immediately in some places. It didn’t all die like everyone thought.”</p> <p>Meanwhile, soil fungi – and the trees that needed it – did not do well in the clearcut areas.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i2p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>“There still isn’t much of anything growing in the clearcut area,” says Aronson. “It was shocking looking at the old growth forest soil and comparing it to the dead area.”</p> <div style><a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/Q0f2"><p align="center"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-198773" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA4MzcgMjU5IiB3aWR0aD0iODM3IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI1OSIgZGF0YS11PSJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRmNvc21vc21hZ2F6aW5lLmNvbSUyRndwLWNvbnRlbnQlMkZ1cGxvYWRzJTJGMjAyNCUyRjA5JTJGVHJhdmVsLXdpdGgtc2NpZW50aXN0cy1lbWJlZF83Mjh4MjI1LXYxLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSI4MzciIGRhdGEtaD0iMjU5IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Buy the cosmos emag now" width="600" height="154" title="a 24-hour gopher visit caused decades of benefits to volcano grave 5"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-198773" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Travel-with-scientists-embed_728x225-v1.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Buy the cosmos emag now" width="600" height="154" title="a 24-hour gopher visit caused decades of benefits to volcano grave 5"></noscript></p></a></div> <div class="in-content-area related-box-wrapper"> <div class="gradient-title">Read More</div> <ul class="related-box article-listing"> <li class="cols"> <div class="article article-post sm-cols-1 cols-3"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/earth-sciences/35-years-on-scars-of-mount-st-helens-eruption-remain/" class="thumbnail ar-16-9 h-100" aria-label="Article link"> <span data-spai-bg-on="1" class="image" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxNDQwIDgxMCIgd2lkdGg9IjE0NDAiIGhlaWdodD0iODEwIiBkYXRhLXU9Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGY29zbW9zbWFnYXppbmUuY29tJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDIwJTJGMDIlMkZzdGhlbGVucy0xNDQweDgxMC5qcGVnIiBkYXRhLXc9IjE0NDAiIGRhdGEtaD0iODEwIiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=)"></span> </a> <div class="article-content has-very-light-grey-background-color cols-1 col-span-2 sm-col-span-1 padding-1"> <a href="/earth/earth-sciences/"> <span class="category earth-color"> Earth Sciences </span> </a> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/earth-sciences/35-years-on-scars-of-mount-st-helens-eruption-remain/"> <h3>Scars of Mount St Helens eruption remain</h3> </a> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div>  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" width='1' height='1' style="opacity:0; height:1px!important; width:1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" aria-label="Syndication Tracker" 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