Les milieux humides dans le paysage des Petites Antilles : étude des mares de la Martinique

Abstract

Wetland types, such as ponds, are essential aquatic biotopes in the Martinique landscape. They are characterized by the permanent or temporary presence, at very shallow depths, of fresh water by the preponderance of a hygrophile phytocenosis and by the existence of a hydromorphic soil. The aim of this article is to identify these slow ecosystems from a hydrogeomorphological and floristic point of view. We have inventoried twenty-three ponds. Then we established an initial classification that resulted in the distinction of forest ponds from savannah ponds. Then we identified seven hydrophytic species and one helophyte.

Keywords

• Martinique
• ponds
• lentic ecosystem
• physical characteristics
• aquatic vegetation