This inability to manufacture carbohydrates weakens the plant and makes it more susceptible to subsequent winter damage and pest infestations. Young trees are more severely affected by this type of fire than older trees. Ground fires kill the cambium and phloem, often girdling or partially girdling the plant. However, new tissue laid down in the following spring allows many damaged trees to survive. Succulent plants and those full of water say, in spring, survive fires better than trees with low moisture contents.
Shrubs often survive by their ability to resprout from their base.
Degradation of Site Quality Fires burn soil organic matter, reducing the soil's capacity to store water and fostering compaction. They accelerate erosion and increase the magnitude of fluctuations in soil temperatures. However, the nitrogen is often replaced quickly by rain, increased soil microbial activity, and nitrogen fixation. Some nutrients are also released from burned organic matter, often making the total availability of mineral nutrients to the plants higher after the fire than before. Site quality deteriorates more on coarse sands and heavy soils than on sandy or loamy soils.