Photo by Scott Taylor 



But this is only partial protection. As 

 developers eye these maritime woodlands 

 as possible sites for condominiums, hotels 

 and housing projects, resource managers, 

 conservationists and scientists worry. They 

 would like to see these valuable maritime 

 forests protected, preserved and studied. 



"People don't know how important these 

 systems are ecologically," says Jonathan 

 Evans, a barrier island plant ecologist at the 

 Duke University Marine Laboratory. "They 

 associate the forests with mosquitoes 

 and bugs. 



"It's like the salt marshes. Twenty years 

 ago most people considered them waste- 

 lands," he says. "Now they realize how vital 

 they are." 



Evans says the maritime forests stabilize 

 the otherwise unstable barrier islands more 

 than any other plant community. 



The forests grow on old dune systems 

 called relic dunes. And they are populated 

 by species of vegetation— live oak, red 

 cedar, yaupon and wax myrtle— that can 

 adapt to the harsh seaside conditions. 



The salt spray constantly shears and 

 shapes the trees and shrubs. The salty 

 deposits kill outer twig shoots but allow 

 growth along the inner branches, says 

 Lundie Spence, Sea Grant's marine educa- 

 tion specialist. The result is a thick, tightknit 

 forest canopy that provides protection for 



less salt-tolerant species such as dogwood, 

 red maple and American hornbean. 



But as deadly as the salt spray is to outer 

 branches, it is vital to the growth of the 

 forest, Spence says. Minerals and trace ele- 

 ments carried in the sea breeze fertilize the 

 sand and vegetation. Without the airborne 

 ocean broth, the maritime forest would lack 

 essential growth nutrients. 



And just as the forest canopy regulates 

 the infiltration of salt spray, it also manages 

 the conservation of rainfall. 



The canopy shields out the sun's evapor- 

 ating rays, providing protection for the layer 

 of fresh water that lies just beneath the 

 land's surface. The layer is fed only by rain- 

 fall, and it is the sole source of fresh water 

 along much of the Outer Banks. 



By conserving water, the maritime 

 woodlands also store water for the barrier 

 island residents and vacationers who want 

 a shower in the morning or a glass of water 

 with their meals. 



And the seaside timberlands provide 

 other vital functions. They trap and moor 

 sand, gradually add soil to barrier islands 

 threatened by sea level rise and offer refuge 

 to an array of wildlife. 



But development threatens all of the 

 maritime forest's valuable functions, Evans 

 says. Building houses, condos or motels in 

 these woodlands would fragment the forest, 

 destroy its natural defenses and allow the 

 killing salt spray to penetrate. 



Eventually the forest could die. 



Scientists don't know how much fragmen- 

 tation the maritime forests can withstand 

 and still work as a whole. And coming up 

 with the magic number of acres for preser- 

 vation or conservation is hard, Evans says. 



"The amount of acreage needed for 

 aquifer protection is different from the 

 amount needed to sustain a deer popula- 

 tion," he says. 



In Evans' eyes, a combination of re- 

 search, preservation and public interaction 

 is needed to protect seaside timberlands. 



"The public needs to recognize and 

 understand how important our maritime 

 forests are and then apply pressure to 

 preserve them," he says. "But if they don't 

 realize their significance soon, they could 

 be destroyed." 



