Mediterranean inland salt steppes
English name:
Mediterranean inland salt steppes
Description (English)
Vegetated saline land of Mediterranean coastal regions and of the fringes of semiarid salt basins that lack drainage to the sea; often dominated by perennial, rosette-forming Limonium spp. or esparto grass, Lygeum spartum. The soils are temporarily permeated (though not inundated) by saline water and subject to extreme summer drying, with formation of salt efflorescences.
Source:
EUNIS habitat classification
Interpretation Manual of the habitats targeted by Resolution No. 4
Quick facts
| EUNIS habitat type | code E6.1 |
|---|---|
| Bern Convention | Resolution 4 habitat type (used for designation of Emerald sites) |
| Relation to | Annex I habitat types (EU Habitats Directive) |
Legal status
Mentioned in the following international legal instruments and agreements
Relation to other habitat types mentioned in legal instruments
| Legal text | Annex | Name in legal text | Code in legal text |
Habitat type relationship |
More information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora - consolidated version 01/01/2007 | Annex I: natural habitat types of community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation | Mediterranean salt steppes (Limonietalia) | 1510 | Overlap | http://ec.europa.eu/environm...rective/index_en.htm |
Vegetation types
Relation to vegetation types (syntaxa)
| Name | Definition | Other names | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polypogonion subspathacei Gamisans 1990 | Ephemeral vegetation of clayey saline soils of Corsica and Sardinia | Polypogonion subspathacei Gamisans in Gamisans et Paradis 1992 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
| Frankenion pulverulentae Rivas-Mart. ex Castroviejo et Porta 1976 | Ephemeral vegetation of clayey saline soils of Western Mediterranean | Frankenion pulverulentae Rivas-Mart. in Rivas-Mart. et Costa 1976; Hordeion marini Ladero et al. 1984 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
| Puccinellion lagascanae Rivas-Mart. in Rivas-Mart. et Costa 1976 corr. Alonso et De la Torre 2004 | Iberian relict saline grasslands on edges of continental inland salt marshes | Puccinellion caespitosae Rivas-Mart. in Rivas-Mart. et Costa 1976 corr. Rivas-Mart. et al. 2002; Puccinellion tenuifoliae Rivas-Mart. in Rivas-Mart. et Costa 1976 corr. Rivas-Mart. 1984; Puccinellion fasciculatae Rivas-Mart. 1976; Puccinellion fasciculatae Rivas-Mart. in Rivas-Mart. et Costa 1976; Puccinellion caespitosae Rivas-Mart. in Rivas-Mart. et Costa 1976 corr. Rivas-Mart. et al. 2001 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
| Limonion algarvensi-lanceolati Costa et al. 2012 | Thermomediterranean Lusitanian- Andalusian upper tidal marsh saline vegetation dominated by rosulate and prostrate chamaephytes | Schaminee et al, 2012 | |
| Puccinellion convolutae Micevski 1965 | Macedonian and north Aegean relict saline grasslands of edges of inland salt pans | Plantagini coronopodo-Camphorosmion monspeliacae Golub et Karpov in Golub et al. 2005 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
| Pholiuro-Spergularion Pignatti 1952 | Ephemeral halo-tolerant vegetation on fine-grained soils of Central and Eastern Mediterranean seaboards | Limonion avei Barbagallo et al. 1984; Limonion avei S. Brullo 1988; Limonion echioidis S. Brullo 1988 corr. Bergmeier in Bergmeier et Dimopoulos 2003 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
| Atraphaxo-Capparidion Korzhenevsky 1992 | Communities of Crimean seaside badlands | Atraphaxo-Capparidion Korzhenevsky 1988 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
| Limonion catalaunico-viciosoi Rivas-Mart. et Costa 1984 | Mesomediterranean saline vegetation of edges of inland salt-pans of Ebro River Basin | Schaminee et al, 2012 | |
| Halo-Artemision Pignatti 1953 | Apenninian saline steppic vegetation on heavy clayey badland soils | Halo-Agropyrion (Pignatti 1953) Ferrari et Speranza 1975; Podospermo laciniati-Elytrigion athericae Pirone 1995; Parapholido-Podospermion cani Ferrari et Gerdol 1987 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
| Limonion confusi (Br.-Bl. 1933) Rivas-Mart. et Costa 1984 | Thermomediterranean saline dwarf sea-lavender scrub of seaboards of Provence | Eu-Staticion Rothmaler 1943; Limonion virgati (Br.-Bl. 1933) Julve 1993; Staticion galloprovincialis Br.-Bl. 1931; Staticion galloprovincialis Br.-Bl. 1933; Limonion galloprovincialis Br.-Bl. 1933 nom. mut. propos. | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
| Gaudinio-Podospermion cani S. Brullo et Siracusa 2000 | Ephemeral vegetation of clayey saline soils of Siculo-Calabrian badlands | Schaminee et al, 2012 | |
| Mesembryanthemion nodiflori Géhu et al. 1990 | Halo-nitrophilous ephemeral succulent therophyte vegetation of sandy and silty soils of Eastern Mediterranean | Schaminee et al, 2012 | |
| Lygeo-Lepidion cardaminis Rivas Goday et Rivas-Mart. ex Rivas-Mart. et Costa 1984 | Mesomediterranean saline vegetation of edges of inland salt pans of Central Spain | Lygeo-Lepidion cardaminis Rivas Goday et Rivas-Mart. 1963 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
| Triglochino barrelieri-Limonion glomerati Biondi et al. 2001 | Thermomediterranean saline dwarf sea-lavender scrub of of Sardinia | Schaminee et al, 2012 | |
| Lygeo sparti-Limonion furfuracei Rigual 1972 | Murcian-Almerian coastal and inland thermo-mesomediterranean semiarid saline dwarf sea-lavender scrub | Lygeo-Limonion angustibracteati Alcaraz et al. 1988 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
| Heleochloion schoenioidis Br.-Bl. ex Rivas Goday 1956 | Pioneer ephemeral dwarf-grass vegetation of periodically flooded saline habitats in (sub)mediterranean regions of Western Europe and North Africa | Heleochloion schoenioidis Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl. et al. 1952 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
| Limoniastrion monopetali Pignatti 1952 | Saline scrub of supratidal non-inundated sandy habitats of western North Africa and Western and Central Mediterranean | Frankenion thymifoliae Barbagallo et al. 1990; Limoniastrion monopetali Pignatti 1953; Limonion ferulacei (Pignatti 1952) Beeftink 1968 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
Species mentioned in habitat description
Flowering Plants
Lygeum spartum
| Species scientific name | English common name | Species group |
|---|---|---|
| Lygeum spartum | Flowering Plants |
Other classifications
| Classification | Code | Habitat type name | Relationship type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palaearctic Habitat Classification 200112 | 15.8 | Mediterranean salt steppes | same |
| CORINE Land Cover | 3.2.1. | Natural grassland | n/a |
History
| Classification | Code | Habitat type name | Relationship type |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUNIS Habitat Classification 200410 | E6.1 | Mediterranean inland salt steppes | same |
| EUNIS Habitat Classification 200308 | E6.1 | Mediterranean inland saline grass and herb-dominated habitats | same |
| EUNIS Habitat Classification 200202 | E6.1 | Mediterranean inland saline grass and herb-dominated habitats | same |
| EUNIS Habitat Classification 199910 | E6.1 | Mediterranean inland saline grass and herb-dominated habitats | same |
| EUNIS Habitat Classification 199811 | E6.1 | Mediterranean inland saline grasslands | same |
| EUNIS Habitat Classification 199712 | B4.2 | Inland salt meadows | same |
| Palaearctic Habitat Classification 199905 | 15.8 | Mediterranean salt steppes | same |
| Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1997 | 15.8 | Mediterranean salt steppes | same |
| Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1996 | 15.8 | same | |
| Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1993 | 15.8 | same | |
| CORINE Biotopes Classification 1991 | 15.8 | same | |
| CORINE Biotopes Classification 1989 | 15.18 | same |
