Maritime forest

Figure 14. A maritime forest grows on the slope of an old dune. (Photograph by the author. More about the photograph)

Figure 14 shows a maritime forest in Roosevelt State Natural Area near the Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores. This forest exists because a series of large dune ridges seaward of it protect it from salt spray. As you can see from the topography, the forest itself is growing on an old dune ridge.

This is the area of Bogue Banks where two shorelines intersect, a fortuitous combination that provided a large volume of sand to be available for island building. Winds, waves, and alongshore currents organized the sands from these two shorelines into dune ridges. The oldest ridge — seen here, under the forest — is farthest from the ocean. Seaward of it are at least five younger ones, each with less developed plant communities. The seawardmost dune in this series looks much like those shown in Figures 11 and 12; it has wedged patches of forest on the landward side and sparse non-forest vegetation on the seaward side.

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