Vegetation is mostly cultural, with agricultural surface, pasture lands, and secondary vegetation towards the northeast, center and east. South from Gibara, there are pasture lands with some crops, natural plains, and secondary vegetation. In the hummocks of the north there is the semi-natural vegetation of woods and heaths that is typical of central and eastern limestone hills. To the southeast of Gibara and south central Rafael Freire, there are tropical latifoliate heaths and thorny xeromorph rosewood communities, in which there's plenty of endemic species like the Yuraguana palm (Coccothrinax garciana). To the north and east, there are remains of natural vegetation, represented by typical semi-deciduous woods. Along the northern coast, there are large surfaces covered by latifoliate woods and other kinds of coastal and subcoastal vegetation, while to the eastern end, beyond the bay of El Naranjo, there extense areas covered by mangrove trees, which are carefully preserved. |