If you arrive at Smithtown Short Beach, you have gone too far. As you stroll along this Self Guided Science-Walk, you will come upon nine discovery stations that are numbered on white diamonds. This is a deciduous forest in which most of the trees lose their leaves each year. The amount of water in the soil plays an important role in determining which type of forest develops. This forest is developed on glacial deposits that are overlain by a layer of wind blown silt known as loess.
Silt produces moist, well-drained soils needed for deciduous forests.
In contrast the pine barrens of Long Island are generally developed on sandy soil, which drain rapidly and do not retain moisture as well. You may wish to visit the web site of Trudy Hyde who did a study of the types of trees and other plants in this forest. You may also wish to visit the web site of Linda Selvaggio who studied the types of sediment and structural features in the cliff faces at this sanctuary. From the parking lot head north toward the beach. Continue to the edge of the forest.