Saltwater is advancing across Maryland’s low-lying woodlands, killing trees and leaving behind what scientists call “ghost forests.” Previously covered by Wood Central, ghost forests occur where vast tracts of dead trees line the United States East Coast, especially around Florida’s ‘Big Bend.’ Now, news station WMDT, reports that researchers are now focusing on Somerset County on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore.
“We know there is salinisation happening and we are really susceptible to that here because we are really low elevation,” according to Stephanie Stotts, Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. “That is a process we are still looking at, whether it is an osmotic imbalance, so there is salt in the water and in the ground, then the trees can no longer use there osmotic gradient to pull the water into the tree, essentially making it like the tree is growing in a desert even though it is totally surrounded by water,” Professor Stotts said. “However, in some cases, the tree may actually take salt up into the tree itself, and then that salt is toxic and could kill the tree.”
One concern is that dead forests are being replaced with invasive phragmites instead of native salt marsh plants. “What’s happening is that as sea level rises, but also as we get shifts like droughts and coastal storms, salt water moves in-land and it kills trees and other upland vegetation, it salinises farm land, but it also facilitates the marshlands to move in-land,” said Holly Michael, Director of the Delaware Environmental Institute and Professor at the University of Delaware.
Michael points out they’re studying water levels, nutrient exports and dying trees all together, so they can understand what causes these changes and how they might happen in the future: “My hope is that the work that we’re doing will translate into improvements to the resiliency of coastal communities and coastal agriculture, and ultimately improve the ability of our coastal ecosystems to be resilient,” she said.
From Maine to Miami — ‘Ghost Forests’ Haunting Coastlines
In April, Wood Central reported that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated that these ghost forests play a crucial role in enhancing our understanding of climate change. As the globe warms, sea levels rise, and more saltwater encroaches on land, “invading seawater advances and overtakes the freshwater that trees rely upon for sustenance,” according to NOAA. “The salty water slowly poisons trees, leaving a haunted ghost forest of dead and dying timber.”
“Still standing in or near brackish water, the decaying trees of a ghost forest resemble giant greying pillars that protrude into the air,” NOAA said. Wood Central understands “Ghost Forests” appear from Maine to Miami and bend back around the Gulf of Mexico, leaving gaunt tree skeletons stripped of leaves and bark. Gradually, forests and bogs give way to more salt-tolerant thickets.” I’ve seen palm tree ghost forests in Florida and red spruce ghost forests in Canada,” said Matt Kirwan, an associate professor with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, who spoke to USA Today late last year. “They all share a similar origin.”
