{"id":1206,"date":"2024-12-06T15:32:35","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T21:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/?p=1206"},"modified":"2024-12-12T17:41:22","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T23:41:22","slug":"tribute-dune-succession-cowles-indiana-dunes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/biodiversity-nature\/tribute-dune-succession-cowles-indiana-dunes\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tribute to Dune Succession"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Tribute to Dune Succession<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
This portion of Cowles Bog Trail that runs along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Indiana Dunes National Park is a wonderful example of dune succession and the pioneering work on the topic by Henry Chandler Cowles (the trail’s namesake).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It’s autumn. And a yellow Eastern cottonwood tree stood far in the distance, made evermore golden and bright by a spotlight of sun and the dark backdrop of a shadowy dune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little did I know, I was standing at the epicenter of the study of ecological succession and, more specifically, dune succession\u2014along the Cowles Bog Trail, named after Henry Chandler Cowles<\/em><\/a> for his groundbreaking research on the topic. The dunes of this national-park are the Birthplace of American Ecology<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The image was made on a foredune near the Michigan shoreline, not long after Zeke and I bounded down a high, steep dune (upper right in the photo) through powdery sand that supposedly “sings” when walked upon. We spotted that tree just after we landed. My photographer friend headed straight for it. I decided to stay back to appreciate and photograph the soft highlights and long, gentle shadows of a low sun, known for accentuating ephemeral shapes in the sand and the individual plants that make up any habitat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you see those saplings of golden-leaved cottonwood in the foreground, mixed in with marram grass? Together, they make the perfect tribute to that dazzling distant tree and the building of the dunes through a few-thousand-year process known as dune succession. Nutrient-barren sand is transformed into a sea of grass, flowers, shrubs, sand-loving trees, like cottonwoods and black oaks, and, most remarkably, the towering dunes like the one I most recently plunged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The currents and waves of Lake Michigan deposit barren grains of sand on the shoreline to create a lifeless beach. As sand is washed and blown inland, it is trapped by plants that, over time, form a foredune\u2014a long, narrow mound that runs parallel to the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main collector of sand is marram grass, which is able to survive the brutal elements and a soil devoid of nutrients. It does this, in part, thanks to a rootlike structure of rhizomes, a type of stem that collects and stores nutrients while also spreading out horizontally to sprout more plants. This net of rhizomes can spread as wide as twenty feet to moor the wandering sand. Each winter, its foliage decays to the ground to further nourish the sand that, over time, becomes rich enough to support other plant species which, in turn, repeat the same pattern. Each new plant stabilizes the soil and amasses more sand, eventually supplanting and occupying the role of marram grass. The cycle continues until nutrient-hungry trees take hold atop towering dunes of sand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to marram grass, we have our mighty dunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Mike<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cowles Bog Trail at Indiana Dunes National Park exemplifies dune succession, a concept pioneered by Henry Chandler Cowles. The process begins with marram grass, which stabilizes sand and enriches soil over time, allowing diverse flora, from flowers to oaks, to develop. This ecological transformation highlights the area’s significance in American ecology. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"A quick explanation about the fascinating process of how sand dunes are formed along Lake Michigan.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,68,71,244,283,243,261,73,282,67,79,70],"tags":[289,294,302,299,291,286,290,285,288,296,298,300,266,268,267,284,287,297,303],"class_list":["post-1206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biodiversity-nature","category-chicago-nature","category-digital-photography-lessons-tips","category-indiana-nature","category-indiana-nature-photography","category-indiana-lake-county-nature","category-landscape-photography","category-landscape-photography-lessons-tips","category-national-park-service","category-nature","category-nature-photography-lessons","category-photography-lessons-tips","tag-autumn","tag-beach","tag-chicago-nature","tag-cowles-bog-trail","tag-dune","tag-dune-succession","tag-dunes","tag-eastern-cottonwood-tree","tag-ecological-succession","tag-foredunes","tag-grasses","tag-henry-chandler-cowles","tag-lake-michigan","tag-landscape","tag-landscape-photography","tag-marram-grass","tag-plant-succession","tag-sand","tag-sand-dunes"],"yoast_head":"\nA Tribute to Dune Succession - 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So, I tried to photograph it, anyway. With dense fog predicted for the morning of Dec. 24, I visited Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, Illinois. The fog wasn't as dense as I had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chicago Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The winter fog added a sense of mystery over the sand savanna of black oak and holly.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1190,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/photography-lessons-tips\/nature-photography-lessons\/bunnys-view-of-springtime-woodland\/","url_meta":{"origin":1206,"position":2},"title":"A Bunny’s View of a Springtime Woodland","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"November 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In the woodlands of early May, shy waxy white blossoms of mayapples hide under their umbrella-like foliage.","rel":"","context":"In "Chicago Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"An intimate view from underneath a miniature forest of mayapples in the woodland known as Raccoon Grove Nature Preserve in Monee, Illinois.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Raccoon-Grove-240506-0010-FS-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C959&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Raccoon-Grove-240506-0010-FS-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C959&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Raccoon-Grove-240506-0010-FS-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C959&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Raccoon-Grove-240506-0010-FS-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C959&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Raccoon-Grove-240506-0010-FS-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C959&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1181,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/illinois-nature-photography\/it-can-take-decades\/","url_meta":{"origin":1206,"position":3},"title":"It Can Take Decades","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"September 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The image here showcases a hanging fen and a sedge meadow, two unique wetland habitats Mike has been trying to photograph for over twenty years. The fen, fed by a gravel hill's seep, features rare plants like Ohio goldenrod and sphynx lady tresses orchid, adapted to its alkaline water conditions.","rel":"","context":"In "Chicago Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"At Lake in the Hills Fen, late-summer flowers decorate the seep of one of its hanging fens.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Lake-in-the-Hills-Fen-220908-0010-FS-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=982%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Lake-in-the-Hills-Fen-220908-0010-FS-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=982%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Lake-in-the-Hills-Fen-220908-0010-FS-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=982%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Lake-in-the-Hills-Fen-220908-0010-FS-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=982%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1115,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/illinois-nature-photography\/from-dreary-to-dreamy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1206,"position":4},"title":"From Dreary to Dreamy","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"February 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"From Dreary to Dreamy Just in case you're unaware, all of my images are available as big, beautiful photographic prints. More than just pretty, they tell elaborate stories that celebrate Chicago's wondrous habitats and inhabitants. Click here for more information. On overcast days like this, I usually stay home. Rarely\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chicago Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Shelves of ice form along the sandy shore of a turquoise Lake Michigan at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, Illinois.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-Snow_Ice-220129-0010-FS-00-FINAL-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-Snow_Ice-220129-0010-FS-00-FINAL-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-Snow_Ice-220129-0010-FS-00-FINAL-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-Snow_Ice-220129-0010-FS-00-FINAL-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-Snow_Ice-220129-0010-FS-00-FINAL-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":83,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/landscape-photography-transcendental-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":1206,"position":5},"title":"Transcendental Light & The Art of Landscape Photography","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"February 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On this typical May morning, along a bluff at Black Partridge Woods, transcendental rays of new-day light\u00a0fleck the verdant floor and streak across serpentine waves of woodland phlox, casting\u00a0the divine onto this springtime panorama. Thirty\u00a0minutes earlier, though, only flat blue\u00a0shade from the open sky illuminated the landscape. Editorially and visually,\u00a0the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chicago Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"In the art of landscape photography, light can have a transcendental effect. Here at Black Partridge Woods, woodland phlox spread in a serpentine wave across the bluff, as streaks of morning light dramatically and ethereally transform matter. \u00a92013 Mike MacDonald Photography, Inc.\u2014ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Please contact Mike MacDonald for permission to use this or any image.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Black-Partridge-Woods-0370-600px-Copyright1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1206"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1237,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1206\/revisions\/1237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}