Within a month, fireweed appeared from roots that had survived even though the tops of the plants were sheared off. Animals such as gophers and ants survived in their subterranean homes, while lake-dwelling frogs and salamanders escaped the blast under a protective cover of late winter ice. Three years after the eruption, biologists had identified the recovery of more than 90 percent of the preeruption species of plants. Many plants owed their lives to gophers. As the gophers dug, they also brought seeds, bulbs, and root fragments up to the surface where they could begin to grow.
Active volcanoes are also responsible for some of the world's most fertile soils.
Tephra commonly contains potassium and phosphorus, two nutrients essential to plant growth. As tephra weathers, these nutrients are released into the soil, acting as time-released fertilizer. The benefits of volcanic soils often lure people to risk living in the shadow of active volcanoes. In the forests, ash initially retarded the growth of surviving trees, but as rains washed the ash off leaves and needles, growth recovered. The layers of ash that remained on the ground enhanced growth for several years.