Marine Park natural areas

Marine Park is the largest park in Brooklyn, and within it includes 508 acres of natural areas. Gerritsen Creek, one of the many inlets of Jamaica Bay, flows around the artificially built White Island. The Park's eastern section mainly consists of restored salt marshes and meadows, with the Nature Center and gravel trails. Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) nest on platforms overlooking the expansive salt marsh, which is predominantly smooth cordgrass (Sporobolus alterniflorus) and saltmeadow cordgrass (Sporobolus pumilus), two of the most important grasses in this habitat. The secretive clapper rail (Rallus crepitans) is often heard but seldom seen. On the warmest summer days, one can easily spot diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) basking on pilings or swimming in great numbers. Diamondback terrapins are the only turtle that lives in brackish water and are a keystone species in salt marsh ecosystems. Aside from the restored habitats, there is also a freshwater wetland east of the nature center. In 2019, the rare marsh straw sedge (Carex hormathodes) was found growing in this freshwater wetland, which gradually transitions into the adjacent saltmarsh.

The western section of Marine Park contains a mosaic of coastal woodland, shrubland, meadow, sand dunes and saltmarsh. The woodland is mostly secondary growth on disturbed fill, dominated by black cherry (Prunus serotina) and bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica), as well as the introduced white mulberry (Morus alba), autumn olive (Eleagnus umbellata) and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). Large portions of this natural area retain high biodiversity despite competition from introduced species -- due in part to the well-drained, nutrient-poor sandy soil underlying the coastal meadows, which support rare species such as Torrey's thoroughwort (Eupatorium torreyanum), Schweinitz's flatsedge (Cyperus schweinitzii), and showy tick trefoil (Desmodium canadense). The last remaining natural sand dune in the park is dominated by uncommon species such as coastal jointweed (Polygonella articulata) and woolly beachheather (Hudsonia tomentosa), which reveals a gorgeous sulphur-yellow flowers in the late spring. The saltmarsh in the western section supports a large population of perennial salt marsh aster (Symphyotrichum tenuifolium), listed as a threatened species in New York State. Every fall it produces a lovely daisy-like flower nestled throughout the salt marsh grasses.