The Cuban wetlands ecoregion blankets the lowland floodplains along Cuba's northern and southern Caribbean shores, with the vast Zapata Swamp of Matanzas and Havana provinces forming its largest expanse and reaching across the Gulf of Batabano. Its habitats grade from permanently and seasonally flooded grasslands dominated by sawgrass and southern cattail into taller swamp forests, with floating aquatics such as fragrant water lily in deeper water and mangroves fringing the seaward margins. As a Neotropical flooded grasslands and savannas system, it is shaped by a tropical wet-and-dry rhythm in which marshy ground sits submerged for much of the year. The region shelters the critically endangered Cuban crocodile, its flagship species, alongside endemic birds including the Zapata wren and Zapata rail, and is classified as critical or endangered despite reserves like the Cienaga de Zapata Biosphere Reserve. For wetland and water gardeners, native genera here include true water lilies and the architectural sawgrass and cattail of permanently wet ground.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 22.5°N, 81.5°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.3°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Flooded Grasslands & Savannas
Realm
Neotropic
Approximate area
2,185 sq mi
Conservation tier
Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 1)
About the flooded grasslands & savannas biome
Grasslands and savannas subject to seasonal or year-round flooding, including large wetland complexes. Exceptionally productive, they concentrate waterbirds and aquatic life.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
Collections for this ecoregion
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other flooded grasslands & savannas ecoregions to explore: