ghost forest
Saltwater-killed trees
A ghost forest is a stand of dead trees, typically the skeletal remains of a forest killed by saltwater intrusion, rising sea levels, or other environmental changes.
The pale, leafless trunks standing in marshland or shallow water create an eerie landscape: Ghost forests along the coast mark where farmland once stood.
The term has gained currency in climate change discussions as coastal forests die from increased flooding and salinity.
Unforeseen complications
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
- wildlifeUndomesticated natural organisms
- woodpeckersBirds that drill trees
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
carbon sink · ecosystem · biodiversity · deadwood · fallen · rotting · fungi · succession
Increasing ocean surface height
- tidal floodingOcean overflow onto land
- brackishMildly salty water
- estuaryTidal mixing zone
- wetlandsWater-saturated terrain
marshland · storm surge · barrier islands · saltmarsh · inundation · coastal erosion · submergence · king tides
Of or like bones
- bleachedHad color removed
- starkSevere and unadorned
- hauntingDisturbingly unforgettable
- eerieDisturbingly strange
desolate · bare · silvered · weathered · leafless · spectral · silhouette · sculptural
Rising planetary temperatures
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- wildfireUncontrolled vegetation blaze
- bark beetlesInsects infesting tree layers
- diebackPlant tissue dying progressively
ecosystem collapse · megadrought · heat stress · mass mortality · climate adaptation · pine beetles
Burned until black
- burnedDamaged by fire
- scorchedBurned on surface
- blackenedDarkened by burning
- combustionExothermic reaction with oxygen
ember · ash · crown fire · megafire · pyrogenic
snags
Unforeseen complications
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
- wildlifeUndomesticated natural organisms
- woodpeckersBirds that drill trees
decomposition · carbon sink · ecosystem · biodiversity · deadwood · fallen · rotting · fungi · succession · regeneration
sea level rise
Increasing ocean surface height
- tidal floodingOcean overflow onto land
- brackishMildly salty water
- estuaryTidal mixing zone
wetlands · marshland · storm surge · barrier islands · saltmarsh · inundation · coastal erosion · submergence · king tides · sedimentation
skeletal
Of or like bones
eerie · desolate · bare · silvered · weathered · leafless · spectral · silhouette · sculptural · monochromatic
global warming
Rising planetary temperatures
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- wildfireUncontrolled vegetation blaze
- bark beetlesInsects infesting tree layers
dieback · ecosystem collapse · megadrought · heat stress · mass mortality · climate adaptation · pine beetles
charred
Burned until black
combustion · ember · ash · crown fire · megafire · pyrogenic
- wildfire aftermathdebris, embers, rubble, scorched earth, smoke damage
- Mecklenburg-VorpommernBarth, Goldberg, Bergen
ghost forestold-growth forest
Long-undisturbed mature woodland ecosystem
virgin forest · dense forest · evergreen forest · rainforest
ghost, forest, ghosts, ghostly, ghosted, ghosting, forests, forested, forestry