Ceiba State Forest (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Bosque Estatal de Ceiba''), also referred to as the Ceiba State Reserve (Spanish: ''Reserva Estatal de Ceiba''), is a

mangrove forest Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fr ...

and nature reserve located in the eastern coast of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, in the municipalities of

Ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, la ...

and

Fajardo Fajardo (, ) is a town and municipality -Fajardo Combined Statistical Area. Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. It is ...

. The forest extends over 350 acres and is mostly made of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

forests which are habitat to a large number of bird species. Although named Ceiba State Forest, the forest is not home to the large ceiba tree (''

Ceiba pentandra ''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety ''C. pentandr ...

''), and it is actually named after the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

it is located in. In addition to the mangrove forests, the reserve also includes coastal zones that comprise sandy beaches and

coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, wh ...

found in both the

and

sections.

History

The forest's ecological value has been recognized since 1918, when Puerto Rico governor

Arthur Yager Arthur Yager (October 29, 1858 – December 24, 1941) served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1913 to 1921. Biography Yager was born in Campbellsburg in Henry County, Kentucky. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Georgetown Coll ...

proclaimed and designated mora than 800 acres of coastal mangrove forest between the municipalities of

and Naguabo. In 1941, the Puerto Rican government transferred a large portion of this zone and granted it to the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

for the development of

Roosevelt Roads Naval Station Roosevelt Roads Naval Station is a former United States Navy base in the town of Ceiba, Puerto Rico. The site operates today as José Aponte de la Torre Airport, a public use airport. History In 1919, future US President Franklin D. Roosev ...

. In 1979, the

Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER) is the executive department of the government of Puerto Rico tasked with protecting, conserving, developing, and managing the natural and environmental resources in Pue ...

(DRNA) then designated the remaining portion as an irreplaceable forest reserve based on its biological, cultural and historical importance and legacy through executive order ''OE-1996-57''. After Roosevelt Roads was closed down there have been pushes to integrate sections of the former naval station and of the Punta Figueras area into the state forest.

Geography

Climate

The average annual precipitation in the reserve is 1,312 mm of rain per year, and its average temperatures are of 26.1C. The driest month in the forest is February and the most humid season is analogous to the wet season between the months of May to September.

Geology

About 95% of the ground in the forest reserve is covered by

. Most of the year the soil in the reserve is found under sea water, and most of the soils are classified as

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

or wetland soil. These types of soil are characterized for being

argillaceous Clay minerals are hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates (e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4), sometimes with variable amounts of iron, magnesium, alkali metals, alkaline earths, and other cations found on or near some planetary surfaces. Clay minerals ...

, saline and organic (influenced by the presence of mangroves). There are two other types of soil found in the reserve: lomic sandy soil found in the beach areas, and the loamy clay silt found throughout the parts of the forest that are not submerged. All types of soil in the reserve are of high acidity and salinity.

Ecology

Flora

The forest is home to all four types of mangrove forest found in Puerto Rico: red mangrove (''

Rhizophora mangle ''Rhizophora mangle'', the red mangrove, is distributed in Estuary, estuarine ecosystems throughout the tropics. Its Vivipary, viviparous "seeds", in actuality called propagules, become fully mature plants before dropping off the parent tree. Th ...

''), black mangrove (''

Avicennia germinans ''Avicennia germinans'', the black mangrove, is a shrub or small tree growing up to 12 meters (39 feet) in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, ...

''), white mangrove (''

Laguncularia racemosa ''Laguncularia racemosa'', the white mangrove, is a species of flowering plant in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae. It is native to the coasts of western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon, the Atlantic Coast of the Americas from Bermuda and ...

'') and buttonwood or button mangrove (''

Conocarpus erectus ''Conocarpus erectus'', commonly called buttonwood or button mangrove, is a mangrove shrub in the family Combretaceae. This species grows on shorelines in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Range Locations it is known from inc ...

''). Saltwort (''

Batis maritima ''Batis maritima'', the saltwort or beachwort (also known as ''turtleweed'', ''pickleweed'', ''barilla'', ''planta de sal'', ''camphire'', ''herbe-à-crâbes'', and ''akulikuli-kai''), is a halophyte. It is a C3-plant, long-lived perennial, dio ...

'') is also very common in the area.

Seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the orde ...

can be found in the maritime areas of the reserve and it is a source of food and refuge for numerous animal species. Vegetation is rarer in the salt marshes.

Fauna

Mangrove forests such as this are ideal for numerous species of fish, birds and crustaceans. The forest is also home to a large number of bird species such as the Bahama pintail ('' Anas bahamensis''), the West Indian whistling duck ('' Dendrocygna arborea'') and the endangered yellow-shouldered blackbird ('' Agelaius xanthomus''). A large number of migratory bird species, both breeding and non-breeding populations, can also be found in the reserve. The forest and surrounding maritime areas are also home to the

West Indian manatee The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the eastern US to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on un ...

, the population of which is still classified as endangered in Puerto Rico.

References

{{coord, 18.32, -65.63, type:landmark_region:PR_dim:2000, display=title Puerto Rico state forests Protected areas of Puerto Rico Ceiba, Puerto Rico Fajardo, Puerto Rico Mangroves Protected areas established in 1918 1918 establishments in Puerto Rico