![\"Montagne](\"http:\/\/www.reserve-tresor.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Montagne-de-Kaw-RNR-Tresor1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/h1>\nSmall but diverse<\/h1>\n
Despite its relatively small size, especially with regard to the size of most other nature reserves in French Guiana (the nearby swampy Kaw-Roura Reserve stretches over 90,000 hectares), the Tr\u00e9sor reserve is home to an astonishing biodiversity. The combination of physical (relief), edaphic (soil type) and hydrological (water accumulation) factors has shaped the reserve into a mosaic of different environments, ranging from swamp forests on mountain slopes \u2013 through a lowland forest interspersed with moist savannah and isolated patches \u2013 to swamp forests bordering the Orapu River.<\/p>\n
Each of these ecological units with well-defined characteristics has its own retinue of species involved in the overall wealth of the regional nature reserve Tr\u00e9sor.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nMap displaying ecological zones\u00a0\u00a9 RNR Tr\u00e9sor<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/h1>\nEcosystems<\/h1>\nHigh forest on drained soil<\/h2>\n![\"Sous-bois](\"http:\/\/www.reserve-tresor.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/For\u00eat-Tr\u00e9sor-G-Feuillet--200x266.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe undergrowth<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Covering most of the reserve, especially the mountain part and the flat area at his feet, high forests on drained soil contain the highest amount of animal and plant species. The canopy towers to thirty meters above the ground, from where occasionally majestic trees up to 50 meters emerge. Under the forest canopy, structures of lateritic rocks are sometimes found, forming cliffs and caves. In the ravines of the foothills of the mountain, coves slowly form and gradually expand into the lower parts of the reserve.<\/p>\n
Swamp forest<\/h2>\n
Swamp\u00a0forests are primarily concentrated on a broad band in contact with the Orapu River. It is a forest of which the floristic composition is strongly conditioned by regular periods of flooding due to the dynamics\u00a0of the tides and the rainfall. So, these plant species have developed special strategies to survive in waterlogged soil. Some emblematic species grow in these environments such as rare Anaphyllopsis americana<\/em>, the Tr\u00e9sor emblem, and\u00a0a protected mahot endemic to northeastern Guiana, Lecythis pneumatophora<\/em>.<\/p>\n
High forest on drained soil<\/h2>\n<\/a><\/p>\nThe undergrowth<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Covering most of the reserve, especially the mountain part and the flat area at his feet, high forests on drained soil contain the highest amount of animal and plant species. The canopy towers to thirty meters above the ground, from where occasionally majestic trees up to 50 meters emerge. Under the forest canopy, structures of lateritic rocks are sometimes found, forming cliffs and caves. In the ravines of the foothills of the mountain, coves slowly form and gradually expand into the lower parts of the reserve.<\/p>\n
Swamp forest<\/h2>\n
Swamp\u00a0forests are primarily concentrated on a broad band in contact with the Orapu River. It is a forest of which the floristic composition is strongly conditioned by regular periods of flooding due to the dynamics\u00a0of the tides and the rainfall. So, these plant species have developed special strategies to survive in waterlogged soil. Some emblematic species grow in these environments such as rare Anaphyllopsis americana<\/em>, the Tr\u00e9sor emblem, and\u00a0a protected mahot endemic to northeastern Guiana, Lecythis pneumatophora<\/em>.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThe undergrowth<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Covering most of the reserve, especially the mountain part and the flat area at his feet, high forests on drained soil contain the highest amount of animal and plant species. The canopy towers to thirty meters above the ground, from where occasionally majestic trees up to 50 meters emerge. Under the forest canopy, structures of lateritic rocks are sometimes found, forming cliffs and caves. In the ravines of the foothills of the mountain, coves slowly form and gradually expand into the lower parts of the reserve.<\/p>\n
Swamp forest<\/h2>\n
Swamp\u00a0forests are primarily concentrated on a broad band in contact with the Orapu River. It is a forest of which the floristic composition is strongly conditioned by regular periods of flooding due to the dynamics\u00a0of the tides and the rainfall. So, these plant species have developed special strategies to survive in waterlogged soil. Some emblematic species grow in these environments such as rare Anaphyllopsis americana<\/em>, the Tr\u00e9sor emblem, and\u00a0a protected mahot endemic to northeastern Guiana, Lecythis pneumatophora<\/em>.<\/p>\n