The Natural Reserve covers, in addition to the fixed and mobile dunes, a forest area (the Mata de São Jacinto). Once a favorite spot for sardine fishing (in the 19th century), the 666 hectares of the Nature Reserve now constitute an important faunal and floristic heritage. At the level of the flora, the dunes are the natural habitat for numerous species, to which are added the species introduced by the man to fix the dunes.