The Environmental Recovery of World War I Landscapes

World War I trench warfare transformed many green bucolic landscapes to barren crater-pocked vistas resembling the surface of the moon. Concentrations of heavy metals from munitions poisoned the soil. The landscapes slowly recovered after the war ended. No-Man’s Land during World War I. It looks like nothing could ever live here again, but poppies and mustard plants popped up, even during lulls between battles and artillery barrages. Flanders Poppy (Papaver rhoeas) seeds can rest in the soil, dormant for as long as 100 years. As soon as competing vegetation is stripped away, and direct sunlight becomes available, poppy plants sprout. They are pioneer species that colonize areas after natural and unnatural events destroy the climax vegetation. Before man influenced the environment these events were usually storms, floods, or fires. Explosions from constant artillery bombardments substituted for these natural catastrophic occurrences, making conditions ideal for poppies. Within a year…