Ecosystems

Natural communities are connected by
the flow of rain, rivers, and tides.

A variety of trails allow you to explore our diverse habitats: forests, wetlands, dunes and headlands.

From winter rains to crashing surf, water is the connecting force in this landscape. Watersheds are further diversified by local conditions: topography, underground water table, soils, fire history, and human impact.

Wetlands form where the water table rises to or above the surface of the land, saturating the soil. Such sites range from seasonal wetlands, with significant water only during the winter, to shallow, year-round ponds. Compared to land or open water alone, wetlands usually offer greater biodiversity (number of species) and greater biomass (the quantity of life, both aquatic and terrestrial); on the boundary between land and water, wetlands may host species found in both. Wetlands are formed in fresh water, salt water, and estuarine water-a mix of fresh and salt.

The region's temperate climate and wet winters/dry summers favor extensive coniferous forests. Conifers thrive in western Oregon, with populations of each species changing with elevation, annual rainfall, and successional stage. Most native deciduous trees favor streamside environments.

The dry summers of far-western North America set the stage for frequent natural fires. Natural fires periodically sweep through parts of the region, usually weaving through available fuels and leaping with varying intensity, leaving a wide variety of change in its wake. Significant fires reset an area's natural ecological succession over time. Most grasslands and meadows are eventually overtaken by encroaching forest, a proces that can be set back or by winter flooding, severe or regular fire, or human management. Such management once included fires set by Native Americans to control forest encroachment on meadows and prairies.

Formed as a natural consequence of the rising sea level over the last 20,000 years, the dunes contain several apparently contrasting communities. Not limited to open sand, the dunes processes also form wetlands, grasslands, and forests.

The mix of rock types and the active geologic history along the Oregon coast give this region its characteristic dynamic and diverse beaches. Rocky beaches are common at the foot of headlands; sandy beaches dominate between the headlands.

Your experience during one day's visit will differ from your next visit to the same site. The longer the time frame, the greater the differences; only the processes remain unchanged.