Carolina Environmental Diversity Explorations
A blackwater river from sea to source · By Dirk Frankenberg
Red cedar marsh invasion
Figure 9. Salt marsh in a mid-salinity area; changed plant zonation (Photograph by the author. More about the photograph)
Figure 9 is a view of another tributary creek to the White Oak. Here, about 7 miles from the sea, we find that most of the marsh is dominated by black needle rush, with salt marsh cord grass occurring only in a few light-green patches along the water’s edge. Note also that a few trees are scattered in the middle marsh. These are red cedars, one of the most salt-tolerant species of tree in the temperate zones. These trees would not naturally be growing in the midst of black needle rush marsh. They are, in fact, growing on piles of dirt thrown onto the marsh surface when ditches were dug through it in an unsuccessful attempt to reduce populations of salt marsh mosquitoes. We will, however, see more of red cedars on this field trip, as they do occur naturally quite close to salty water.
