Rising Seas Turn Mid-Atlantic Forests Into Eerie 'Ghost Forests'

Coastal forests along the mid-Atlantic are turning into 'ghost forests' as sea levels climb. Salt-intolerant trees, unable to survive, leave behind clusters of grey, skeletal trunks. Now, researchers are examining how water flowing down tree trunks—known as stemflow—affects these dying ecosystems.

A team led by undergraduate student Samantha Chittakone is investigating stemflow's role in forest health. Supervised by Robyn O'Halloran, Delphis Levia, and Yu-Ping Chin, they focused on sweetgum trees, common in the region. Their findings reveal that stressed and dying trees produce stemflow with unusually high sugar levels, which may disrupt nearby microbial life.

Stemflow from dead trees also absorbs far more rainfall than healthy ones. This shift reduces water, nutrients, and dissolved organic carbon in the soil. As a result, the forest's ability to store carbon weakens, accelerating ecological decline. The study highlights how rising seas and saltwater intrusion create ghost forests. By tracking stemflow patterns, scientists hope to identify which coastal woodlands face the greatest risk.

Understanding stemflow could help predict which forests will struggle most as sea levels rise. The loss of carbon storage and soil nutrients further threatens these ecosystems. Researchers plan to expand their work to protect vulnerable coastal woodlands.