Mangroves are a type of forest that is characterized for being located in tropical areas where there is an influence or direct contact with the sea, like the coastal areas of estuaries, marshes, lagoons, bays and inlets as well. The arboreal plant species of mangroves differ in their air and water sections mainly in their level of adaptation to absorve salinity from the seawater (halophytes), this and other features are what determinates the zonification of the mangrove forest and distribution of species.

Low concentrations of oxygen in the soil is a very limiting parameter for the establishment of other species in the intertidal environment, so the adaptations of the mangroves are the only species able to survive and thrive. It is also of great importance for the development of mangrove forest the topography and the influence of tidal regimen and water currents. Coastal soils for mangrove should be soft and muddy like thr structure that give silt, clay and a little sand. By the feature of the stilt roots of the mangroves contribute decisively to the stability of the substrate and terraforming as pioneer species.

The frequency of salt water flooding by tides or the freshwater in the river estuaries are also factors that influence the dynamics of mangroves, these factors are directly related to periods of flooding, regional rainfall and tides. As environmental characteristics are changing the ecological succession of mangrove forest, conditioning the presence of the typical species of each sector with respect to the sea.

Another salient features of the mangrove ecosystem is the aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, not only for the resident wildlife, also as a nursery for marine animals and bird, including migratory species. It can not be forgeted that mangroves are unmatched protection against erosion of the coastline .

Mangrove forests are found practically on all the coasts of the Caribbean Sea. On the South American coast there are important mangrove areas, especially in Venezuela and its islands, as well as in Colombia and the Netherlands Antilles. On the caribbean coast of Central America, mangrove forests are also very important and they are under strong pressure from man as in Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The most extensive mangrove forest in the West Indies are on the island of Cuba, in the other islands there are patches of more or less extension of mangrove depending on the geomorphological features of the coast like in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico islands. The smaller islands may also have small populated areas of mangrove forests while others such as Barbados, Sta. Lucia and Dominica have no representation of this biome.

Tolerance to salinity (halophyte) is the main feature that differentiates the mangrove species other wooded formations. The dominant species in the mangroves of the Caribbean Sea are the Red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) White mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) button mangrove (Conocarpus erectus)

In general there is a big difference between the aquatic and terrestrial fauna in the mangrove, since the presence of these animals , not necessarily sensitive to salinity, can be observed in this biome as visitors or temporary residents.

A reference that can be consulted for a better understanding of mangrove forest ecosystem is the Limitedjin (2000) "El manglar, el ecosistema de vida"