The problem with “ghost forests” is well known to climatologists. This term describes the destruction of forest areas in the coastal zone due to the seepage of salt water into the soil as a result of rising seas and oceans.
But a new study by scientists at Duke University in North Carolina has shown that salt water moistens the soil not only in the coastal strip. In the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, 47,000 acres (11% of all woodland) have been deforested since 1985, with about half of these losses occurring in forests one mile offshore. It turned out that drainage ditches and canals, originally intended to drain excess water from these places, now serve as channels for moving deeper into the salt water, which is harmful to vegetation.
The problem of ghost forests became especially urgent after the hurricane Irene hit the state in 2011, which led to the flooding of forests in the reserve and mass death of trees. The Alligator River Sanctuary is just 2 feet above sea level, and experts predict that by the end of this century, water levels along the North Carolina coastline will rise by 2 to 5 feet. “The unprecedented rate of deforestation and land cover due to climate change could become a reality for coastal regions around the world,” the study said. “This will have negative consequences for wetlands, wildlife habitats and the carbon cycle in the atmosphere.”
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Ghost forests