Mount St Helens, Fungi, and the Genesis Flood

Scientists (especially geologists) of the biblical creation science persuasion as well as their secular counterparts have given Mount St. Helens intense scrutiny after is 1980 eruption. Creationists see that it is powerful evidence for the Genesis Flood.

A scientific model needs to be built on evidence. Models for the Genesis Flood need to not only explain geological features, but also have evidence for the earth's recovery after the global cataclysm. It is possible to put the puzzle pieces together from what is observed today and the uniformity of nature.

Anthracobia melaloma, Flickr / Lukas Large (CC BY-SA 2.0), modified at BigHugeLabs

We saw in "Amphibians Support the Genesis Flood" and "Mount St Helens, Arthropods, and the Genesis Flood" that Flood models are supported in the way that organisms recover disturbance areas. Some think that the first living things there were fungi.

That may not seem impressive, but when digging deeper (sometimes literally), it can be seen how fungi play an important role. They help keep soil in place, form mutually-beneficial relationships with plants (indeed, symbiosis includes communication between fungi and trees!), decompose organic materials that are unhelpful and then releasing nutrients, and more. Clearly, the Master Engineer provided for areas to recover, whether from the global Flood or more localized disturbances.

During his initial mycological foray into the blast zone on 1 July 1980, [mycologist Steven E.] Carpenter observed white patches of fungus growing in moist depressions on tephra11 deposits and in areas shaded by fallen trees. . . . Over the ensuing months, numerous other species of phoenicoid fungi appeared, both as mycelia3 mats and as fruiting bodies. Within these fungal patches, algae, bryophytes (mosses), and vascular plants subsequently established, forming small oases of plant recovery within the pumice desert.

Remarkably, the pattern of fungal responses observed at Mount St Helens was similar to post-fire fungal behaviour in other parts of the world. For example, Anthrocobia species generally appear soon after a thermal stimulus, to be followed by multiple other ascomycete species and months later by basidiomycetes. . . .

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The early arrival of phoenicoid fungi played several pivotal roles in “laying the ecological foundation for a new ecosystem” following the 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens. Listed below are processes attributed to phoenicoid fungi based on observations at Mount St Helens and other sites.

Even if you don't have a grasp of the technical lingo, the full article is still worth some of your time. See it at "Phoenicoid fungi: first responders at Mount St Helens."