503 
Goyaves (G.R.G.) 
1:20000 reduced 
, 3 Low prairie 
-yperaceae (was 
i icaco thicket ; 
9 Acrostichum 
.-Avie.-Lagune. 
hromatic photos 
.nopies) has to 
•istic-pedological 
e of areas to 
mapping scale, 
quite sufficient 
>gical units 
and low banks, 
.rge vegetation 
inundable 
mestone, peat, 
, ). 
generally more 
lowing in detail 
d growth condi- 
;y classes. The 
idely different 
one side, the 
e , barely meca- 
jLES 
the vegetation 
iblications but 
scales between 
illy introduced 
•ms of mangrove 
! palustre (for 
Figure 6. Sketch of Grande Rivière à Goyaves mouth 
From ORSTOM colour photo 1:10000 reduced to about 
1:13000 
A old mouth ; B present mouth ; 1 pure tall Rhiz. 
2 Overwash mangrove ; 3 tall Rhiz. ; 4 Cycloned 
Rhiz. invaded by Rhabdadenia ; 5 Pterocarpus ; 
6 Avic. thicket ; 7 Avic. park-like ; 8 Saltflat 
About the same time Beard (1949) did a similar 
pioneer work in the Lesser Antilles (except Guade 
loupe and Martinique), especially in vegetation 
classification. Unfortunately, wetlands are so small 
in the English-speaking Islands that they are not 
shown in his sketchmaps about 1:240000. 
Portecop (1976,1980) produced two colour vegetation 
maps 1:150000 with comments showing mangrove (and 
two facies, Conocarpus and Acrostichum) for Marti 
nique ; mangrove, Pterocarpus, Cladium swamp and 
halophilous pastures (the most inland belt) for 
Guadeloupe. 
Tandy (1983) drew a tentative unpublished colour 
map 1:20000 in 7 sheets for Guadeloupe with the 
following legend and no comment : mangrove, Ptero 
carpus, xerophilous forest, Cyperaceous swamp, fern 
swamp, mudflats and saltflats altogether. 
Rioux et al (1984) published a colour map 1:50000 
of the wetlands of Guadeloupe with short comments 
and the following legend : mangrove, Pterocarpus, 
Chrysobalanus thicket, Haematoxylon swamp thicket, 
Cladium swamp, Acrostichum swamp, two types of brac 
kish inundable prairies (Philoxerus, Eleocharis) 
and 3 types of freshwater prairies. This map is 
fairly detailed and was established for health pur 
poses to show mosquitoes breeding sites in relation 
to salinity and inundation. 
Feller et al are preparing an ecological map 1:50000 
in colour (one sheet) of the wetlands of Guadeloupe, 
a joint interpretation of soil and vegetation with 
comments on both aspects. 
Chanteur et al (1980,1981) produced unpublished 
tentative sketchmaps 1:10000 on the mangroves of 
Martinique with the legend : Rhizophora, Avicennia, 
Laguncularia, mixtures, grass swamps, saltflats, 
xerophilous vegetation. 
The objectives of research and mapping at 1:10000 
or 1:20000 were to substantiate the procedure of 
mangrove reserve establishment in Guadeloupe and 
Martinique for conservation purposes, not for produc- 
Figure 7. Morne rouge 
Photo IGN 68.69 ANT 104-200 294 original 1:20000, 
reduced to about 1:27000 
1 Mixed thicket Rhiz.+Avic.+Lagunc. ; 2 Rhiz. 5- 
6 m + scattered Lagunc. ; 3 Pterocarpus ; 4 Nephro- 
lepis thicket ; 5 Acrostichum fringed by Pterocarpus 
6 this point is Cyperaceae in 1984, was Rhiz. in 
1968 ; 7 pure Rhiz. thicket ; 8 Cyperaceae swamp 
9 tall Rhiz. ; 10 mixed Conocarpus thicket. 
tion which is minute compared with the energy con 
sumption of both Départements. 
Actually some adjustments are necessary on the 
available maps. 
10. THE IMPORTANCE OF WETLANDS IN THE LESSER ANTILLES 
The largest wetlands in the Lesser Antilles occur 
in Guadeloupe : mangroves 2 900 ha, Pterocarpus 
forest 2 300 ha, open swamps 1 000 ha. Next in impor 
tance is Martinique : mangroves 1 900 ha, Pterocarpus 
less than 10 ha, grass swamps 700 ha ? 
Dominica has too steep shores for any significant 
development of mangroves ; there are no stands al 
though Laguncularia is locally present (Portsmouth) ; 
only Pterocarpus occurs in small clumps with Annona 
glabra nearby and small Acrostichum patches. 
The mangroves of St-Lucia have been drained during 
the Second World War : a large swamp near Vieux 
Fort disappeared leaving few remnants. Pterocarpus 
is found South of Micoud on the Windward coast. 
In St-Vincent, Grenada and Barbados only relicts 
of mangrove and apparently no Pterocarpus occur. 
Floristic poverty in the Lesser Antilles Wetlands 
is directly linked to their small size and isolation 
in spite of the existence of two feeding sources, 
from the Greater Antilles in the North, from the 
Continent and Trinidad in the South. 
11. THE CARIBBEAN BACKGROUND 
It is worthwhile mentioning even briefly the impor 
tance of wetlands in the Caribbean area for the 
sake of comparison, at least for mangroves. Many 
islands are provided with rather modest mangrove