Machair complexes
Description (English)
Machair complexes are characterised by the effects of wind-blown calcareous sand with a predominance of shell fragments, a low proportion of sand-binding vegetation and a long history of agricultural use. Machair in its strict sense (B1.9) refers to short-turf grassland on relatively flat and low-lying sand plains formed by dry or wet (seasonally waterlogged) sandy soil above peat or impermeable bedrock. Machair complexes (X27) correspond to machair in the broad sense, including the beach zone (B1.2), mobile and semi-fixed foredunes (B1.3), dune-slack pools (C1.16), fens (D4.1), lochs (C1), some of them brackish, and saltmarsh (A2.5), as well as machair grassland (B1.9) and land cultivated on a strip rotation (I1).
Source: EUNIS habitat classification
Quick facts
EUNIS habitat type | code X27 |
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Vegetation types
Relation to vegetation types (syntaxa)
Not availableSpecies mentioned in habitat description
Other classifications
Classification | Code | Habitat type name | Relationship type |
---|---|---|---|
CORINE Land Cover | 2.4.2. | Complex cultivation patterns | n/a |
Phase 1 habitat classification (UK) 1993 | H65 | Sand-dune: dune grassland | overlap |
Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Habitats (UK) | 29 | Machair | narrower |
History
Classification | Code | Habitat type name | Relationship type |
---|---|---|---|
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200410 | X27 | Machair complexes | same |
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200308 | X27 | Machair complexes | same |
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200202 | X27 | Machair complexes | same |
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199910 | X27 | Machair complexes | same |