for construction and repair of naval ships. The reservation
continues today as part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Another feature that the live oak tree seems to have
evolved is the ability to “shed” small leaf-bearing limbs when
exposed to high winds, and thus reduce its surface area
and vulnerability to wind damage. In the regions around
Charleston after Hurricane Hugo and other tropical storms,
residents cleaned up dozens of branches snapped from live
oaks during the high winds. These two- to three-foot-long
limbs looked almost as if they had been removed
with clippers.
Live oaks are among the first trees to establish behind sand
dunes as new seaward sand ridges develop. Their tolerance
to salt spray, dry conditions, and infertile soil give them
competitive advantages over other trees. Young live oaks
are very susceptible to fire, but fires on islands, particularly
small islands, are relatively rare, partially accounting for why
live oaks are not as common farther inland where fire may
be more common. Once established, mature live oaks are
more fire resistant, and the high humidity, relatively sparse
ground cover, and fire resistant litter do not allow fires of
high intensity.
A walk through a classical maritime forest near the coastal
beaches will reveal that the live oak appears to dominate
along with several commonly observed species including
the cabbage palmetto, Southern magnolia, red bay, yaupon,
American holly, sparkleberry, wax myrtle, and saw palmetto
(from Kiawah southward). You can often see something that
resembles sculpting of these forests that are very near the
beaches behind the sand dune ridges.
The tree and shrub canopy appears to slope down towards
the beach, at about the same angle of relief exhibited on the
seaward side of the sand dunes. This sculpting is apparently
the result of both salt spray and wind. Wind-blown sand
abrades the leaves allowing saltwater to enter. The high salt
concentration within the leaves or stem kills tissues while
the leeward side of the plant is not harmed, thus resulting in
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