Driving around the south of the island, you may be headed to the beach or just going on a traditional Nantucket “rantum scoot.” Most dirt roads headed to the shore take you past open landscapes of waving grasses, low shrubs, and wildflowers when the season is right. Head of the Plains, Smooth Hummocks, Cisco— these are sandplain grasslands and coastal heathlands. On Nantucket, we’re pretty lucky: the sandplain grasslands here are some of the largest remaining intact grasslands of their kind in the world.
Tag: Sandplain grasslands
Native Habitats
by Dr. Sarah Treanor Bois Director of Research & Education at the Linda Loring Nature Foundation For people and plants, Nantucket can be a formidable place to call home. Only the hardiest souls can endure the wind, salt spray, and isolation all year, but those that can are rewarded with […]
Managing a Rare Island Habitat
Dr. Sarah Treanor Bois Director of Research & Education at the Linda Loring Nature Foundation Sandplain grasslands of the northeastern United States are important hotspots for native plant and animal biodiversity. Nantucket has some of the largest expanses of intact sandplain grassland and heathland habitat. With much of this landscape […]