Throughout the anthropic history of Martinique, the formation of a regressive vegetation of an essentially shrubby, herbaceous or pre-forest nature, has replaced the various original and supposedly climatologically adapted forests. Today remaining forests enclose highly complex units of a floristic quality that is not far removed from those which used to cover the entire island. The current vegetation is a mosaic of different age communities and of various floristic components. Since a few decades, certain sections of the island have been put under protection in order to ensure the preservation of a minimum of biodiversity. These areas, protected or considered as such, are controlled by the Coastal and Lakeside Conservatory, the Regional Natural Parks of Martinique and the National Forestry Board. They concern the different vegetational stages that are conditioned by the bioclimate which typifies the Lesser Antilles. These areas harbour a variety of physiognomically distinct floristic units and occupy different positions on the dynamic scale. The multitude of states of complexity that can be found within these protected land zones constitutes a good framework for the study of vegetational succession.
Joseph, P
Terrestrial protected areas of Martinique: natural laboratories for the study of plant dynamics
Revue D Ecologie-La Terre Et La Vie