Régénération et reconstitution de forêts naturelles à l'île de la Réunion

Although still densely forested, the vegetation of the island of La Reunion (Mascarenes) has been drastically modified by human intervention during the past three hundred years. Little is left of the lowland coastal forest, except in the small reserve of Saint Philippe. The hill forests still cover most of the mountain slopes between 700 and 1300 m above sea level, although some tree species have suffered from overexploitation in the past. The open forest of the endemic tree, le Tamarin des hauts (Acacia heterophyila), is found between 1300 and 1800 m above sea level, in the highest ranges. The biology of this tree is described and the successful techniques devised by the Reunion Forest Service to ensure its regeneration after forest fires or landslides is described.Miguet J.M. Régénération et reconstitution de forêts naturelles à l'île de la Réunion. In: Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et La Vie), tome 34, n°1, 1980. pp. 3-22