Maritime forests are a rare and highly threatened coastal resource in
North Carolina. They are fragile woodlands that are able to grow and
survive on some of our barrier islands and estuarine shorelines. Maritime
forests are different from inland forests because of their unique
adaptations to the harsh coastal environment. In North Carolina, these
forests have developed under the influence of salt spray and are found on
barrier islands or immediately adjacent to estuarine waters. They are
dominated by oak, red cedar, holly, and pine trees and evergreen shrubs.
The trees shrubs, and vines are massed into a shrub thicket with tightly
woven interconnected, sheared canopy.
The maritime forests perform a number of
important environmental functions. The forests provide important habitat
for wildlife; they protect and recharge the freshwater aquifer, they
conserve groundwater by reducing evaporation; they utilize and recycle
scarce nutrients in a relatively sterile environment; they bind soil,
thereby gradually elevating the island; they provide hurricane protection;
and they serve as a major stabilizing component of the overall barrier
island system.
Maritime forests are significant natural areas,
possessing important cultural, scientific, and aesthetic values. Some of
the important functions of maritime forests are island stabilization, soil
production, nutrient conservation, ground water storage and storm
protection. Developers see these forests are the prime place to build on
the barrier islands. Therein lies the conflict over the use of this
coastal resource. Maritime forests are often the highest and safest places
on Barrier Islands, which explains why developers like to develop the same
area.
The location of many of the oldest villages on
the Outer Banks indicates that early colonists were drawn to the beauty
and protection of the maritime forests. Early settlers of Old Nags head,
Ocracoke, Portsmouth, and Diamond City found home sites that were less
susceptible to frequent flooding, high winds, and harsh temperatures. Any
level of change in a maritime forest results in a change in the natural
ecosystem and loss of important components of that system. The only way to
preserve the forest as an intact ecosystem is to acquire the land and
manage it as a natural area.
Resource: Paton/Zucchino. 1990. A
Guide to Protecting Maritime Forests Through Planning and Design. 24pp.
|
|
