Protection of the flora on local islets

The conservation of xenophile vegetation is one of the long-term goals of the management plan for the Réserve Naturelle. In this framework, the scientific department created an identification program for the flora on the islets of Caye Verte, Petite Clé, Pinel, and Tintamare. Financed by the French Agency for Biodiversity (AFB), this operation took place on July 15-19 and again on August 5-8, 2019, with the participation of Jonathan Migeot, PhD in tropical botany affiliated with ImpactMer in Martinique, as well as Karl Questel and Jonas Hochart from the Territorial Environmental Agency in Saint Barth. The four islets were investigated and special areas were defined and marked, and within each area the number and size of the plants were listed by species. This project will allow for the reconstitution of the flora on these islets over time. These missions resulted in technical notes, and a more detailed report will be forthcoming early next year, including recommendations for the convalescence of these impacted areas. As of now, we know that important differences exist in the number and types of species on each of the four sites, but also that the presence of goats and green iguanas has a major negative impact on the vegetation by limiting the reproduction of various species, most notably certain trees. Also, based on an itinerary of the flora done in 2016 by Caroline Fleury and Karl Questel, it will be possible to evaluate the consequences of hurricane Irma on the vegetal species in the Réserve.