Host mangroves
The irregular characteristics of the coasts of this wetland, with its gulfs, inlets, marshes and river mouths, with sandy or muddy soils influenced by the tides and which receive with some regularity fresh water from runoff, have led to the establishment of mangroves that they reach a height of more or less 20 m.
Different mangrove species have evolved and have adapted to variations in the relief and substrates, changes in the frequency of floods and different ranges of salinity and presence of oxygen. These adaptations have led to the mangrove forests showing in Zapata, a characteristic arrangement forming strips that follow a sequence from the sea front to the mainland, where the Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) appears in the areas almost always flooded by water. marine, more exposed to the waves and with softer and more unstable soils, and behind it grow the Mangrove Prieto (Avicennia germinans), the Patabán (Laguncularia racemosa) and the Yana (Conocarpus erectus) than for being a species less adapted to the influence of the tides and at high levels of salinity it is located behind the coastline, in greater contact with the firm ground and the terrestrial vegetation.
In places where the substrate is poor and the karst outcrops near the surface, freshwater runoff is barely noticeable and sea winds blow strongly, variations in the composition and height of these plant formations occur, so we can find stunted mangroves that only reach between 30 cm and one meter in height.
The irregular characteristics of the coasts of this wetland, with its gulfs, inlets, marshes and river mouths, with sandy or muddy soils influenced by the tides and which receive with some regularity fresh water from runoff, have led to the establishment of mangroves that they reach a height of more or less 20 m.
Different mangrove species have evolved and have adapted to variations in the relief and substrates, changes in the frequency of floods and different ranges of salinity and presence of oxygen. These adaptations have led to the mangrove forests showing in Zapata, a characteristic arrangement forming strips that follow a sequence from the sea front to the mainland, where the Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) appears in the areas almost always flooded by water. marine, more exposed to the waves and with softer and more unstable soils, and behind it grow the Mangrove Prieto (Avicennia germinans), the Patabán (Laguncularia racemosa) and the Yana (Conocarpus erectus) than for being a species less adapted to the influence of the tides and at high levels of salinity it is located behind the coastline, in greater contact with the firm ground and the terrestrial vegetation.
In places where the substrate is poor and the karst outcrops near the surface, freshwater runoff is barely noticeable and sea winds blow strongly, variations in the composition and height of these plant formations occur, so we can find stunted mangroves that only reach between 30 cm and one meter in height.
In areas of the swamp, far from the coast, more than 24 kilometers inland, the permeability of the karst and the faults have allowed saline intrusion and mangrove cays or fringes have been established with the typical species of the coastal zone.
Being formed by plants with many branches and with intertwined roots, mangroves are ideal for mating, breeding and feeding fish and other members of aquatic, amphibian and terrestrial fauna. The most frequent animals in the Zapata mangroves are: fish, crustaceans and molluscs, the Jutía Conga (Capromys pilorides), the Jutía Carabalí (Capromys prehensilis), the American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), the Cuban Crocodile (Crocodylus rhombipher), the Batista Sparrowhawk (Butoegallus gundlachii), Chillina (Teretristis fernandinae), Mangrove Canary (Dendroica petechia) and a large number of waterfowl. This plant formation contributes to the balance of the wetland not only because of the natural interactions in which they participate as a habitat for great biological diversity, but because they serve as protectors of coastal stability and as barriers acting as ecological filters between marine events and terrestrial.
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