NATURALIST'S 



NOTEBOOK 



Drifting sand creates a 'ghost' forest effect within the maritime forest. 



While nearby Kitty Hawk Woods has 

 limited public access, Barbara Blonder, 

 Coastal Reserve northern sites manager, 

 welcomes school groups and community 

 organizations. Here is a chance to walk 

 along the relics of dunes left by the Atlantic 

 Ocean as it receded during the Pleistocene 

 epoch, she says. One of the largest of the 

 state's maritime forests, it contains examples 

 of both maritime deciduous forest and 

 maritime swamp forest environments. A 

 community of evergreen and deciduous 

 hardwoods dominate the upland ridges, 

 while thick stands of bald cypress dominate 

 the swamp forest. 



As a biologist, she is fascinated with 

 how nature's processes work together. 

 Where better to study such synergy than the 

 rare and diverse habitats of Kitty Hawk 

 Woods? Blonder hopes to expand its use as 

 an educational resource and a low-impact 

 research laboratory. Currently, a botanist 

 from St. John's University is trying to 

 determine the reason for the decline of the 

 woods' dogwood trees. He also is studying 

 the life history of the crane-fly orchid. 

 Another scientist from Oak Ridge National 

 Laboratory is conducting water quality 

 studies to track how naturally occurring 

 organic compounds move through organic 

 soils. 



Blonder also oversees the maritime 

 forest on Currituck Banks and co-manages 

 Buxton Woods with Marcia Lyons, site 

 biologist for the National Park Service. 



Lyons describes the Buxton Woods 

 Reserve as a "magical" place where beauty 

 and science intersect. Reserve habitat 

 includes all the elements that define a 

 maritime forest: maritime evergreen forest, 

 maritime shrub swamp, sedges (inter-dune 

 ponds), maritime shrub thicket and salt 

 marsh environments. Its Jeannette Sedge, 

 the largest of its fresh water ponds, is the 

 source of water for all of Hatteras Island. 



Looking at the windswept beauty of the 

 live oak forest, the questions tumble out: 

 How can these beautiful live oak trees thrive 

 in a mere inch of topsoil? How can they 

 survive the constant assault of sea spray? 

 How do they survive the daily winds and 

 frequent storms? 



Adaptation, she explains. The reduced 

 leaf size and waxy cuticles help reduce 

 penetration of the salty spray. She cites 

 botanist Vincent Bellis, East Carolina 

 University professor emeritus and former 

 Sea Grant researcher, who compiled a 

 review of maritime forest-related literature 

 about five years ago. Bellis suggests that 

 because evergreen trees continually lose 

 their leaves rather than seasonally, the litter 



provides a continuous, but low, supply of 

 minerals. Evergreen species also have the 

 capacity to photosynthesize even during the 

 winter months. 



While the primary canopy of any 

 maritime forest is important, so is its 

 "understory" of herbaceous plants, vines, and 

 shrubs that contribute to the forests' stability. 

 Bellis fears that clearing this undergrowth for 

 development in the remaining maritime 

 forests not in protected areas will destroy the 

 regenerative ability of existing plant life. 



Citizen advisory councils at each 

 protected maritime forest site play vital roles 

 in developing management plans for the 

 forests. Members help to inform policy- 

 makers responsible for land-use plans in 

 adjacent communities. 



Volunteers such as Kelmer understand 

 the value and heritage of maritime forests and 

 are convincing advocates. Leading interpre- 

 tive walks through the Buxton Woods 

 Reserve, Kelmer weaves the science, the 

 history and the local lore to create a sense of 

 place. 



He tells visitors they are standing atop a 

 sand bar some 5,000 feet deep, about 3 1 miles 

 from the mainland; that the Algonquin 

 Indians were the earliest inhabitants of the 

 woods; and that colonial settlers discovered 

 that the density and strength of live oak wood 

 was well-suited for ship building. 



He tells them that the maritime forests 

 have been thinned dramatically by modem 

 day expanding development. And he tells 

 them that, by the way, these rare, complex 

 and mysterious maritime forests hold the 

 barrier islands in place. □ 



CONTACTS: 



• Barbara Blonder, northern sites manager 

 Kitty Hawk Woods and Buxton Woods 

 Resent 252/261-8891 



• Janet Owen, development director 

 Nags Head Woods Preserve, 

 252/441-2525 



• Marcia Lyons, field biologist 

 Buxton Woods Resen'e/Cape Hatteras 

 National Seashore, 252/995-6968 



COASTWATCH 29 



