INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Like giant bones planted in the earth, clusters of tree trunks, stripped clean of bark, are appearing along the Chesapeake Bay on the United
They are ghost forests: the haunting remains of what were once stands of cedar and pine
Since the late 19th century, an ever-widening swath of these trees have died along the shore
salty water increasingly encroaches
of trees, leaving behind woody skeletons typically surrounded by marsh.What happens next? That depends
As these dead forests transition, some will become marshes that maintain vital ecosystem services, such as buffering against storms and
Researchers are working to understand how this growing shift toward marshes and ghost forests will, on balance, affect coastal
ecosystems.Many of the ghost forests are a consequence of sea level rise, says coastal ecologist Keryn Gedan of George Washington University
in Washington, DC, coauthor of an article on the salinization of coastal ecosystems in the 2025 Annual Review of Marine Science
Rising sea levels can bring more intense storm surges that flood saltwater over the top of soil
Drought and sea level rise can shift the groundwater table along the coast, allowing saltwater to journey farther inland, beneath the forest
Marshes are important features of coastal ecosystems, too
They are habitats for birds and crustaceans, such as salt marsh sparrows, marsh wrens, crabs, and mussels
They are also a niche for native salt-tolerant plants, like rushes and certain grasses, which provide food and shelter for animals.
