Scientists want to ensure that swaths of trees killed by saltwater flooding are more than dead forest, but become quality marsh habitat for birds.
By Carlyn Kranking, Editorial Fellow, Audubon Magazine
January 05, 2022
Ghost forest along Watch House Trail at Belle Isle State Park. photo by Marty Hill
At Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland, acres upon acres of dead tree trunks stand sentinel, their bases partially covered by salt water. Back in 2003, Hurricane Isabel struck the refuge before it could recover from an unusually dry summer. The storm surges brought salty ocean water into the already parched landscape and essentially choked the salt-intolerant trees to death.
A 280-mile drive away, at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina, it’s a similar story. Full story here.