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7327553 
Book/Book Chapter 
Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta: The largest lagoon-delta ecosystem in the Colombian Caribbean 
Rodrã­Guez-Rodrã­Guez, JA; Pineda, JEM; Trujillo, LVP; Rueda, ME; Ibarra, KP 
2018 
Springer Nature 
The Wetland Book II: Distribution, Description, and Conservation 
2 
757-772 
English 
Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM), the main Colombian coastal lagoon, is situated in the south Caribbean basin and has a deltaic geomorphology. It is recognized as the most productive lagoon in the neotropics and is an important habitat for a wide variety of fish, reptiles, mammals, and birds. The fishery is one of CGSM's most important ecosystem services providing both food and income for rural communities. The mangrove forest is the most important vegetal coverage in this estuarine complex, and variations in the soil salinity levels determine the distribution, composition, and survival of four mangrove species. The construction of a coastal highway and levee road along the Magadalena River has altered the natural flow of marine and fresh waters, causing severe environmental damage to the mangrove-lagoon ecosystem. Different projects have been conducted for the rehabilitation of the CGSM. However, pressures from human population growth that overexploits ecosystem resources, a gradual expansion of the agricultural frontier, contamination by the lack of sanitary infrastructure in human settlements, waste generated by local businesses, and lack of continuity and rigor in maintaining channels continue to cause a decrease in mangrove coverage and a deterioration in the health of the forest, fauna, and quality of life or rural people. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018. All rights reserved. 
Hypersalinization; Lagoon; Mangrove ecosystem; Neotropics; Ramsar; Restoration