Sanibel Journal

A ghost forest is an area of dead or dying trees.  Ghost forests that are appearing in coastal Florida these days are generally caused by rising sea level -- the increasing intrusion of salt water into a habitat that once supported trees that were not so salt- or water-tolerant. The trees die, leaving only their upright, dead skeletons -- called snags -- and eroded roots behind. A snag on Silver Key, decorated with shells. But there is a ghost forest area on Silver Key in Sanibel that was caused more directly by humans.  Years ago, the City of Sanibel killed the invasive exotic Casuarina (Australian Pine) trees on Silver Key.  Many of the snags have now fallen, but some remain, and a few of them support osprey nests. The remaining salt marsh on Silver Key appears to be thriving.  Much of it is savanna-like.  Part of it is wooded with sea grapes and buttonwoods.  And then there's the beach side of Silver Key, which is in a constant state of change. ...

In these days of concern about climate change, we often hear about the importance of forests for storing carbon.  Worldwide, mangroves account for storage of more carbon than almost any other kind of forest on earth.  I wrote about mangroves in this blog four years ago.  Since then, a study published in 2018 has shown that the earth’s mangrove forest soils hold 6.4 billion metric tons of carbon in 2000 – far more than previously estimated.[1] Florida, according the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has 554,515 acres of mangroves.[2]  About 11,000 of those acres are on Sanibel. Besides sequestering carbon, these mangroves around us are stabilizing our shorelines. Their root systems slow the flow of the water, causing sediments and nutrients to settle and form a foundation for marine life. Spoonbills and ibis dine near mangroves in the Old Blind Pass arm of Clam Bayou. Mangroves are important to fish.  The Florida Museum affiliated with the University of F...

April 16, 2016 -- In April 2013, this is what I said about mangroves during the "mission moment" at church: When you live in this part of Florida, you know or you soon learn that native plants are important to our ecosyste m. Mangrove trees are true natives, and they are our most valuable coastal resource. Biologically, they form the structure for a complex ecosystem that is the link between the land and the sea. These mangroves stabilize our shorelines. Their root systems slow water flow, and that facilitates the deposit of organic material and sediment that provide nutrients that are the basis of the marine life food chain. Excess nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are filtered from coastal waters by mangroves, and are incorporated into the leaves, branches and root systems of the trees. Mangroves are important to fish. About 85 to 90 percent of all local commercial and recreational fish depend on mangroves for food and shelter. Other marine organisms attach to...