Ghost Forest
South Carolina, USA
Bald cypress trees are incredibly resilient. They live year-round in flooded freshwater ecosystems and easily withstand major hurricanes along the coast. However, when ocean water makes its way upstream due to sea-level rise, deeper river dredging or severe droughts, it introduces a high concentration of salt to the soil and groundwater.
These high salt levels interfere with the tree roots’ ability to absorb water. Even though the trees are surrounded by water, the salt content prevents uptake, causing them to die of thirst. In addition, young cypress trees are highly vulnerable, and cypress seeds cannot germinate underwater or in saline conditions. This prevents a new generation of trees from replacing the dying ones. Other key wetland trees that can be affected are water tupelo, swamp tupelo and wax myrtle shrubs.
This can result in the creation of so-called "Ghost Forests". Bald cypress wood is naturally highly rot-resistant so these trees do not decay and collapse right away. Instead, they shed their bark, turn sun-bleached white, and stand like skeletal gravestones for up to a decade. Eventually, as the freshwater trees completely vanish, the ecosystem transitions permanently into a salt marsh.
Photo © copyright by Dr. Edward Mikol.
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