TRANSECT

Sarah Willig

Sarah A. (Sally) Willig is a lecturer in landscape architecture and an academic advisor and lecturer in earth and environmental science at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds an AB in geology from Princeton University and a PhD in geology from the University of Pennsylvania. Believing experience is the best teacher, she works to engage students in field study in all her courses.

place reflects its history—climatic, geologic, and human—as well as current interactions of non-living and living factors. Unraveling the story of a place requires research and exploration of all these aspects of place. Coming to understand narratives of a place allows one to thoughtfully evaluate future scenarios. Knowledge of natural hazards such as coastal or river flooding and their projected occurrence is imperative in landuse decision-making, especially in light of climate change. Awareness of the processes shaping the patterns of ecological communities of plants and animals is important for restoration and management of degraded or eradicated systems such as dunes and wetlands. Consideration of Indigenous cultures that inhabited and may continue to be present in a place, as well as respect for their relationship to the land, is essential. Identification of the nature and extent of contaminated sites establishes the basis for appropriate remediation of land, air, and water and protection of human and wildlife health.

Experience is the best teacher. Field work involving observation, drawing, photography, and collection of qualitative or quantitative data allows for synthesis and understanding. Over the years, visiting a sequence of natural areas that are representative of regional physiographic provinces (areas of similar geology and topography) along a transect from the Atlantic Ocean in New Jersey to the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania has engaged Penn landscape architecture students in learning about the regional ecology. This essay gives the reader a glimpse into a selection of these landscapes and reflects on the lessons that students learn in visiting them.

In tracing our path, we acknowledge that the land we are crossing and exploring is the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Lenape people and we recognize their continued presence and connection to the land. Moving through different landscapes provides a sense of scale and the relationship of features to one another, as well as the opportunity to perceive a site using all of one’s senses. For many of our students, especially those coming out of high-density urban environments, the experience of walking parts of a transect from mountain to sea is revelatory.

At Island Beach State Park along the Atlantic coast in New Jersey, the juxtaposition of extensively developed land to the north of the park and minimally developed land in the park highlights the tremendous appeal of living at the Jersey Shore and the wholescale removal of habitat that often occurs with coastal development. Coastal storms, including nor'easters in the cooler months and hurricanes in the warmer months, are the most significant natural hazards. The widespread damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012 illustrated the importance of dunes and salt marshes in buffering storm effects. Ongoing dune research is increasing our understanding of using nature-based solutions to protect communities. Small-scale efforts to build resilience through the use of native plants that benefit wildlife and allow for water infiltration in residential and municipal areas should be encouraged.

Wind and water shape dynamic barrier islands with longshore drift and periodic storm over-wash transporting sand lengthwise and landward, respectively. One can capture ecological diversity by moving along environmental gradients. As winds off the ocean diminish across the barrier island, sand grain size and movement, soil calcium carbonate and pH, and salt spray decrease while soil organic matter, nitrogen, and moisture increase. Plant zonation correspondingly shifts from low-growing sand-binding pioneers such as sea rocket and American beachgrass on the upper beach and primary dune to shrub thicket dominated by American holly and eastern red cedar and maritime forest supporting pitch pine and southern red oak on older dunes. Salt marsh dominated by smooth cordgrass and salt hay develops in protected areas on the bay side. Migrating and resident birds use the variety of habitats across the barrier island with shorebirds on the beach, songbirds in the thicket, and wading birds in the salt marsh. Following Hurricane Sandy, installation of snow fencing and American