Guadeloupe National Park: Archipel de la Guadeloupe Biosphere Reserve

Guadeloupe National Park: Archipel de la Guadeloupe Biosphere Reserve

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Guadeloupe National Park encompasses a tropical forest and includes La Grande Soufrière volcano and the Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin Nature Reserve, a marine protected area adjacent to the park, comprising the Archipel de la Guadeloupe Biosphere Reserve.

Guadeloupe National Park

Guadeloupe National Park comprises a tropical forest on the island of Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France located in the Leeward Islands of the eastern Caribbean region.

The tropical forest, which is completely uninhabited, is home to over 300 species of trees and bushes. It varies in character and species among several sub-ecosystems, depending on elevation.

  • The lower elevations (up to 500 m or 1,600 ft) of the National Park's buffer zone support a mesophilic forest featuring trees such as white and red mahogany, rosewood, and jatobá. This ecologic area is also used for agriculture, including banana plantations and other food crops.

  • A moist montane forest covers 80% of the National Park's core area at elevations between 300 m (980 ft) and 1,000 m (3,300 ft). This dense and luxuriant ecosystem harbors a great diversity of plant species:

    • very large trees that grow to more than 30 m (98 ft) in height: tabonuco, acomat boucan, chestnut

    • mid-level trees between 6 - 10 m (20 - 33 ft) in height: bois bandé, oleander

    • shrubs and herbaceous plants under 10 m in height: mountain palm, heliconia, ferns

    • epiphytic species: giant philodendron, aile-à-mouche, orchids

  • The high-elevation forests above 1,000 m (3,300 ft) are much less dense than the National Park's other forests due to the extremely wet conditions and constant cloud cover. These forests resemble savannas.

La Grande Soufrière

La Grande Soufrière, on the island of Basse-Terre, watches over the Guadeloupe National Park and the surrounding Biosphere Reserve. It is an active stratovolcano and, at (1,467 m or 4,813 ft above sea level), is the highest mountain peak in the Lesser Antilles.

The volcano last erupted on August 30, 1976, but it was less severe than predicted. There were no fatalities, owing to the complete evacuation of the island's 72,000 residents before the eruption.

Grand-Cul-de-Sac Marin Nature Reserve

Grand-Cul-de-Sac Marin Nature Reserve encompasses a vast bay of 15,000 ha (37,000 acres) between Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre, including coral reefs, mud flats, seagrass bed and mangrove forests, freshwater swamps, forests, and marshes.

In the lagoon, sea-floor 'meadows' provide a habitat to turtles and teem with fish. Giant sponges and soft corals, urchins and fish are abundant. In addition, the mangrove hosts many sedentary and migratory birds (pelicans, terns, moorhens, ducks, herons and kingfishers).

The Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin Nature Reserve includes coastal wetland forests flooded permanently or intermittently by fresh or salt water, comprising nearly half of Guadeloupe's mangrove swamps.

Vegetation in the coastal zone faces the challenges of salinity in the air and soil, intense heat from the sun and its drying effect, and the constant wind. Notable plant species in this environment include seagrape and pear.

Archipel de la Guadeloupe Biosphere Reserve

The Archipel de la Guadeloupe Biosphere Reserve, situated on Guadeloupe Island in the Caribbean Sea, comprises two geographically separate sites:

  • Guadeloupe National Park: encompasses a tropical forest and includes La Soufrière volcano

  • Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin Nature Reserve: a marine protected area adjacent to the park

The transition areas of the biosphere reserve include numerous small towns and villages with many tourist facilities. Some 225,500 inhabitants live permanently in the biosphere reserve, and there are about 20,000 visitors per year to the marine part of the area.

Threats to the Archipel de la Guadeloupe Biosphere Reserve are hurricanes, tourism, anchorage on coral reefs, deforestation, and water pollution.