Barren littoral coarse sand

Description (English)

Freely-draining sandy beaches, particularly on the upper and mid shore, which lack a macrofaunal community due to their continual mobility. Trial excavations are unlikely to reveal any macrofauna in these typically steep beaches on exposed coasts. Oligochaetes, probably mainly enchytraeids, and the isopod Eurydice pulchra may be found in extremely low abundances, but if present in any quantity should be classed as units A2.3223 or A2.2232. Burrowing amphipods (Bathyporeia spp.) may be present on very rare occasions. Occasionally, other species may be left behind in low abundance by the ebbing tide.
Situation: This unit may occur on the mid and/or lower shore below A2.111 in exposed conditions. In moderately exposed conditions, and where A2.221 occurs on the upper shore, a range of relatively more species-rich clean sand communities may occur on the mid and lower shore. These include A2.223, A2.222, and A2.231, depending on the degree of wave exposure and sediment mobility. Tal may occur on the same shore as A2.221, where driftlines of algae and other debris accumulate on the upper shore.

Source: EUNIS habitat classification