Analysis of the Conservation of Central American Mangroves Using the Phytosociological Method

Additional Abstract Our study of mangrove swamps revealed a total of 120 species, of which 13 are character- istics of mangrove swamps, and 38 of flooded areas with low salt. All the others are inva sive species which have taken advantage of the degradation of these natural ecosystems. The scenario is not very different in Laguna de Tres Palos in Mexico. The frequent fires in the low-growing semi-deciduous rainforest (dry forest) have caused intense erosion, with the consequence that the site has silted up. As a result, the first vegetation band of Rhizophora mangle is extremely rare. Instead, Laguncularia racemosa and Conocarpus erec- tus are dominant, along with a band of Phragmito-Magnocaricetea with a high occurrence of Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin., which acts as an indicator of sediment silting. It is extremely frequent for several reasons: as it is the decrease of the salinity of the water, the scarce depth due to the accumulation of sediments and the contamination by the entrance of residual waters of the nearby populations. When the depth and salinity of the water are suitable, the dominant species are Rhizophora mangle , Laguncularia racemosa , and Avicennia germinans .