Tidal freshwater section of the White Oak (2)

Figure 12. Freshwater marsh and pioneer forest trees; fresh/salt transition (Photograph by the author. More about the photograph)

Figure 12 shows another part of the tidal freshwater section of the White Oak. Here you can see not only red cedars growing close to the river but also a few pines and maples. The presence of the latter species tells us that the water almost never gets salty here. Note, however, that some of the trees closest to the river have lost their leaves and look dead. We don’t know whether they are dead or not, but we do know that Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd blew strong winds onshore a few weeks before this photograph was taken. It is altogether possible that these maple saplings were victims of a strong “wind tide” that exposed them to lethal levels of salt.

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