Studying Resilience of Paradine Plains Cactus After Arizona Wildfires

In the wake of the destructive Dragon Bravo and White Sage fires that ravaged northern Arizona last summer, not only were the Grand Canyon Lodge and vast forests of ponderosa pine trees reduced to ashes, but a lesser-known victim also emerged—the paradine plains cactus, a crucial native succulent.

This diminutive plant, resembling a tiny green hedgehog, is not easily spotted by visitors to the Four Corners region. Typically only an inch or two in height, it can comfortably fit in one’s palm. During the cold and dry winter months, the cactus often retreats underground, remaining dormant until favorable weather conditions return.

Upon learning that the White Sage Fire had swept through much of the cactus’s native habitat, Clare Aslan, an associate professor at Northern Arizona University’s School of Earth and Sustainability, became concerned about the species’ fate. “I knew some really high-severity burns had occurred right where these cacti grow,” Aslan stated. “I went up there in October, right after the fire was 100% contained. I saw that lots of them were very charred, but to my surprise, some areas were totally black except for these little green dots. It was the cacti. I thought, ‘How is this even possible?’”

With funding from the U.S. Forest Service, Aslan is set to explore the resilience of these succulents. Over the next three years, she and assistant professor Sara Souther will examine White Sage Fire burn sites on Forest Service land, tracking the lifecycles of each cactus encountered. While they will document entirely charred and wholly green cacti, their primary focus is on those with burnt outer spines but intact green centers.

“We’re studying those most closely to find out whether they make it in the long term—whether they regrow or not,” Aslan explained. “We’ll also track reproduction. Some plants look like they’re not reproducing this year, but we’ll see if that changes in the future. If it does, we’ll be able to see new baby plants appear.”

This research will assist the Forest Service in deciding which fire-impacted areas require restoration and which can naturally regenerate, thereby optimizing the use of taxpayer funds. “They have to be careful with limited resources,” Aslan noted. “If we’re seeing sites that are more resilient, that seem to be recovering just fine, they might skip restoration in those areas and save it for other sites that need it more.”

The implications of this study could extend beyond the Southwest, as the U.S. has faced a severe megadrought since 2000, affecting diverse biomes nationwide. “There’s a strong drought response in these plants,” Aslan remarked. “Plant diversity has taken a hit. There are fewer pollinators. A lot of the ecosystem is at its limit now; the plants don’t have many free resources. To add a big fire on top of that is incredibly damaging and could make it really hard for plants to recover.”

Nevertheless, some plants, including the paradine plains cactus, demonstrate recovery potential. Monitoring plant resilience across fire-prone areas could enable more effective environmental preservation efforts. “In lots of places, from California to Minnesota, we’re getting bigger fires and more prolonged droughts,” Aslan said. “Understanding how our plant communities can make it through those kinds of shocks is a huge question in restoration. If we can identify sources of resilience, we could help improve resilience across all our ecosystems.”

Jill Kimball | NAU Communications
(928) 523-2282 | jill.kimball@nau.edu