THURSDAY 3/19: ‘Mother Nature vs Us’ at Oyster Research Center

Thursday March 19, at 7 p.m. at the Anheuser-Busch Coastal Research Center in Oyster, Don Young of Virginia Commonwealth University will present “Ecosystem Engineers: Mother Nature vs Us.” Virginia barrier islands are home to two very important dune building grasses, American beach grass and sea oats. Through feedbacks with physical processes these grasses use slightly different strategies to build dunes that protect and stabilize island interiors. The dominant barrier island shrub, wax myrtle, further stabilizes island interiors and increases soil nitrogen that may be important to dune grasses and the island fringe marsh. Field research on these species will be discussed, and our results and experiences”will be placed within the context of coastal restoration, sea-level rise, and climate change.