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On this day they are digging in San Diego’s Batiquitos Lagoon, a coastal wetland right beside one of the region’s busiest highways, Interstate 5. The steady din of passing traffic is completely ignored as the scientists gently examine the four- to five-foot-long stalks. Michael, a biological geneticist at the Salk Institute, jams the shovel through the cattail’s interconnected roots and into the softer sediment. A hard pull separates the plant from its anchor but it still clings to a clump of rich wet dirt. RELATED: New Habitat Preserve In North San Diego County Helps California Gnatcatcher The dark mud is created by the constant push and pull of this coastal wetland environment. Saltwater regularly flows into the estuary, pushing back and even killing the freshwater cattails. When freshwater dominates, the cattails thrive. The constant cycle of fresh, salty, and sometimes lack of water, creates a cycle of life and death that builds a bed of carbon-rich sediment. Michael’s hands clean sticky black mud off the base of a cattail stalk. “Yup, it’s an example,” Michael says as he handles the plant’s roots. “It’s still alive, so you can see a new shoot is forming off of the rhizome here. So, this is the rhizome.”
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