As most residents of South Alabama know, Fort Morgan is an area that is directly on the coast, situated on the tip of a peninsula. It is a beautiful, historic area with expansive beachfront. It is a small community with beach houses, resorts, and local shops and restaurants.
Recently, scientists found in situ tree stumps and peat on the beach. The wood showed that the stumps were originally from around 2,000 years before now. The samples they found had pollen in them that the scientists were able to use to study.
How Hurricanes Shaped the Study
The Fort Morgan area has been hit by many hurricanes in the past century. The storms could have previously revealed the peat that was discovered. However, these extreme weather situations have made it so the shape and nature of the gulf has been changing, making long-term studies difficult. Sand and shorelines shift, and things like these stumps and peat can be quickly hidden again.
Peat is indicative of the biology that was once in that area, so examining it could reveal information about the peninsula in the past. It contains pollen that can be tested to reveal biological history and what types of plant-life the area had.
During this study, samples of the peat from different areas on the beach were taken to a lab for the pollen on it to be examined. The goal was to discover the trees and plants that dominated the area centuries ago.
Trees of Baldwin County
The study found that the pollen came from many different sources. The most common of these were pine, grapes, monolete and trilete spores, and grasses. Because of the percentage of pollen that came from types of upland trees and plants, it was assumed that the original wetland area of the peninsula had mostly upland trees and plants.
The final result of the study, however, was that pine trees were a dominating presence. The same types of vegetation that were in the samples from the peat are also present in Baldwin County today.
If you have interest in a property in Fort Morgan area, contact the Kris Powell and his team of associates for help and advice.
Leave a Reply