'Ghost forest' spread rapidly in North America due to climate change

Forests are poisoned by sea water, becoming "ghost forests" that appear more and more quickly around the world.

US scientists say the phenomenon of coastal forest death due to seawater intrusion appears more and more rapidly in the world and is clear evidence of climate change, CBS News reported on August 1.

"I think ghost forest is the best sign of climate change no matter where it is on the east coast of the US," said Matthew Kirwan, professor at the Virginia Ocean Science Institute . "The dry land that can be used 50 years ago is now dead tree swamp." "Ghost Forest" stretches from Canada to the east coast, around Florida and to Texas.

The October 2015 tide killed many pine trees near Yorktown, Virginia.(Photo: AP).

According to Kirwan, over the past 100 years, over 400 km ^{2 of} forest in Chesapeake Bay has turned into a swamp. The rate of coastal deforestation is four times greater than in the 1930s. Ben Horton, a professor at Rutgers University and an expert on sea level rise, said water off the east coast rose nearly 40cm in the last 100 years, fast. more than the speed of the previous 2,000 combined.

The process of forest death because of seawater occurs naturally for thousands of years. But the speed of dead trees has increased rapidly in the past few decades due to the extremely melting ice , sea ​​level rise, pushing salt water farther into the mainland. Large storms also contribute to deeper sea water in the land, killing the trees.

Saltwater intrusion greatly changes coastal ecosystems. Migratory birds have less area of ​​residence in the forest. Dead plants cause bacteria in the soil to release nitrogen gas, contributing to promoting the growth of algae and making fish sick or dead due to reduced oxygen. However, swamp instead of forest creates habitat for fish, snails, oysters .