Volcanic islands that have experienced complete vegetation loss following recent eruptions provide rare opportunities to observe the earliest stages of ecosystem recovery. Nishinoshima, an oceanic island located approximately 1000 km south of mainland Japan, underwent major volcanic activity between 2013 and 2020, eradicating all pre‐existing vegetation and covering the island with new lava. In July 2025, a brief landing survey was conducted on Nishinoshima. Small green patches were located, photographed, and sampled for morphological and molecular identification. Bryophytes and ferns were found growing in a few small patches on volcanic scoria near the coastal zone. These plants represent the earliest post‐eruption establishment of spore‐bearing vegetation on Nishinoshima. The presence of these taxa indicates that long‐distance spore dispersal can initiate plant colonization even under extremely harsh abiotic conditions. Although terrestrial vegetation is currently compact, with a few small patches, these findings mark the onset of primary succession and provide a critical baseline for tracking subsequent plant community development and island biogeographic processes under extreme oceanic isolation.
Murakami et al. (Fri,) studied this question.