Although still densely forested, the vegetation of the island has been drastically modified by human intervention during the past 300 years. Little is left of the lowland coastal forest, except in the small reserve of Saint Philippe. The hill
forests still cover most of the mountain slopes between 700 and 1300m above sea level, although some tree species have suffered from overexploitation in the past. The open forest of the endemic tree, le Tamarin des hauts (Acacia heterophylla), is found
between 1300 and 1800m above sea level, in the highest ranges. The biology of this tree and the successful techniques devised by the Reunion Forest Service to ensure its regeneration after forest fires or landslides are described.
Some comments on J. M. Miguet's paper. The possibility of applying some of the forestry techniques successfully used in La Reunion to some of the French Guyana forests is discussed.