1. Maritime Forest Environments Develop under the influence of salt aerosols Restricted distribution Shear edge created by salt aerosols

2. Maritime Forests Tidal marsh and creek Maritime forest

3. Maritime Forest Environments Species adapted to: –Low salt aerosols –low soil nutrients –sandy soils

4. Maritime Forest Environments Salt aerosols control location and structure of the maritime forest

5. Maritime Forest Characteristics Low height growth Species “selected” for tolerance to salts

6. Maritime Forest Environments Vines and lianas common Tree leaves small, thick, evergreen

7. Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)

8. Bear oak (Quercus illicifolia) common along New England maritime-influence forests

9. Southern Red Oak (Quercus falcata) Common in Mid-Atlantic maritime forests

10. Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) Salt aerosol damage ocean

11. American Holly (Ilex opaca)

12. (Pinus taeda) Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) Loblolly pine is the most common pine in the maritime forest. It typically is successional and is replaced by live or laurel oak in the southeastern US.

13. Wax Myrtle (Myrica pennsylvanica) Northern Bayberry is common in thickets and forests from Cape Hatteras northward into New England Bayberry candles are made from the waxy coating on the berries

14. Red Bay (Persea borbonia) Grapes (Vitis spp.)

15. Dogwood (Cornus florida) Poison Ivy (Rhus toxicodendron) Woodbine (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

16. Partridge Berry (Mitchella repens)

17. Resurrection Fern (Polypodium polypoidies) Fern with adequate moisture Fern during drought conditions

18. Development of Maritime Forests Develop on coastal dune systems Sterile sandy soils Hummocky topography Begin as scattered shrubs

19. Impact of hurricanes on maritime forest vegetation. Pines are typically snapped off; cabbage palms survive. Live oak and magnolia have branches and leaves ripped off. Natural Impacts on Maritime Forests Large migrating dunes are capable of overwhelming shrub and forest vegetation

20. Significant Human Impacts Fragmentation occurs when development occurs within a continuous forest Forest opened to salt aerosol impacts when development occurs

21. Freshwater Wetland Environments Ponds, swamps, marshes Form where water table intersects ground surface

22. Freshwater Wetland Environments Receive groundwater input from adjacent dunes Influenced by groundwater and rainfall Water flows from adjacent dunes into slough between dunes

23. Freshwater Wetlands Cattails (Typha spp.) Bulrush (Scirpus spp.)

24. Tidal Marsh Environments Develop in areas protected from wave attack Topographically flat, incised with drainage creeks

25. Tidal Marsh Environments Alternately exposed and covered by tides daily “Pulse- stable environment s

26. Tidal Marsh Environment Saltmeadow Cordgrass (Spartina patens) Smooth Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora)

27. Zonation Cordgrass dominant above and below mean tide level Many other species dominant above average high tides

28. Black Needlerush (Juncus roemerianus) Black Needlerush is common at the upper edge of the tidal marsh where the tide floods only occasionally Black Needlerush

29. Sea Ox-eye (Borrichia frutescens) Sea Lavender (Limonium carolinianum)

30. Glassworts (Salicornia spp.) These succulent plants grow in the most salinr environments in the tidal marsh area

31. Batis (Batis maritima) This succulent, similar to glasswort, is common in the southern United States

32. Formation of Tidal Marsh Sand and mudflats colonized by smooth cordgrass –must reach critical elevation –seed falls on flats –spread by rhizomes Typical environments colonized by smooth cordgrass primarily by seeds

33. Formation of Tidal Marsh Sand flats are colonized by clumps of smooth cordgrass. Alternatively, the sand flats can be colonized by germinating seeds of smooth cordgrass. Colonization by Spartina alterniflora

34. Formation of Tidal Marsh Sand flats may become uniformly vegetated in 2- 5 years Creeks become incised as community matures

35. Human Impacts Finger canals (now outlawed in all states) Point and non- point source runoff

36. Mudflats and Sandflats No rooted aquatic vegetation Significant infauna (clams, worms, etc.) Important habitat for organisms in intertidal environments