sabrawalton
Ghost Forest
The landscape of our coastal communities has been ever shifting over centuries. However, in recent years as salt water has crept ever further into freshwater ecosystems these ghostly figures have been left in their wake. Areas such as this were once dominated by entire forests of Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), moisture loving woody plants (ie; river birch- Betula nigra) and various shrubbery. Today these "ghost forests" are the still-standing skeletons of these trees.
Ghost forests are growing in area and in concern for much of the east coast. This photo of a stretch of creek extended out from the Cape Fear River depicts the impact of encroaching salinization and rising sea-levels. Researchers and universities within NC have turned their attention to restoring and/or preserving freshwater communities. Not only has the freshwater ecosystem suffered, the injury can also be felt in some of the rural coastal area's economy. As many people heavily depend of agricultural industries and forestry, salinization changes soil's entire composition in addition for killing off freshwater plant life.
However, ecosystems can be quite resilient- and over time the disappearance of one type of community can give rise to another. Widening channels and other man-made processes (over the last 200 years) have shaped the Cape Fear River to allow ever-larger ships upstream into Wilmington, as well as saltwater from the Atlantic Ocean. Due to this, once freshwater swamps and marshes have transitioned into brackish estuaries, complete with grassy salt-marshes and tidal creeks that are home to richly diverse communities of crabs, shrimp and many kinds of saltwater fishes of commercial, recreational and ecological value.
Read more about ghost trees in Wilmington:
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com/article.asp?aid=965
NC State University land and water issues effect costal systems:
ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastwatch/previous-issues/2017-2/hol...
NC State SALT Project (Coastal Sustainability):
ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastwatch/previous-issues/2017-2/hol...
List of Backyard Wetland Plants:
brunswick.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Plants-...
Ghost Forest
The landscape of our coastal communities has been ever shifting over centuries. However, in recent years as salt water has crept ever further into freshwater ecosystems these ghostly figures have been left in their wake. Areas such as this were once dominated by entire forests of Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), moisture loving woody plants (ie; river birch- Betula nigra) and various shrubbery. Today these "ghost forests" are the still-standing skeletons of these trees.
Ghost forests are growing in area and in concern for much of the east coast. This photo of a stretch of creek extended out from the Cape Fear River depicts the impact of encroaching salinization and rising sea-levels. Researchers and universities within NC have turned their attention to restoring and/or preserving freshwater communities. Not only has the freshwater ecosystem suffered, the injury can also be felt in some of the rural coastal area's economy. As many people heavily depend of agricultural industries and forestry, salinization changes soil's entire composition in addition for killing off freshwater plant life.
However, ecosystems can be quite resilient- and over time the disappearance of one type of community can give rise to another. Widening channels and other man-made processes (over the last 200 years) have shaped the Cape Fear River to allow ever-larger ships upstream into Wilmington, as well as saltwater from the Atlantic Ocean. Due to this, once freshwater swamps and marshes have transitioned into brackish estuaries, complete with grassy salt-marshes and tidal creeks that are home to richly diverse communities of crabs, shrimp and many kinds of saltwater fishes of commercial, recreational and ecological value.
Read more about ghost trees in Wilmington:
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com/article.asp?aid=965
NC State University land and water issues effect costal systems:
ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastwatch/previous-issues/2017-2/hol...
NC State SALT Project (Coastal Sustainability):
ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastwatch/previous-issues/2017-2/hol...
List of Backyard Wetland Plants:
brunswick.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Plants-...