What Remains: Ghost Forests, What We Have Lost and Gained.

Pedram Daneshgar, Ph.D.

Climate change induced sea level rise and storm related flooding events have had a dramatic effect on the coastal ecosystems of New Jersey. Salt water intrusion into coastal forests that are normally buffered by salt marsh ecosystems forests results in extensive tree die offs leaving behind what has been termed a “ghost forest,” a novel marsh hybrid ecosystem filled with dead trees. Often these ghost forests are invaded by non-native species like phragmites, which completely alter the function of the ecosystem. Pedram Daneshgar, Ph.D., will share the work his lab has done exploring the Ecology of ghost forests specifically looking at how the forest communities are changed. Then he will discuss preliminary work on restoration strategies for these forests.