Facies of phanerogams which have been washed ashore (upper part)

Description (English)

On sandy beaches, in the supralittoral stage, at a higher level, rarely submerged, in the whole of the Mediterranean. Present on the upper beach, only humectated by the sea during storms. The temperature is highly variable and the daily differences in temperature may be more than 20°C. These temperatures may be extremely high, reaching 50°C in the summer, and are then lethal for individuals living in the sand. This facies is a relatively particular aspect of ‘wracks’ and corresponds to the washing up of almost exclusively marine phanerogam debris from nearby meadows and beds. These wracks always include a fairly sizeable part of other additional elements of anthropic or natural origin. The sediment of the upper beach ranges from shifting sand on compact sand to the presence of more or less damp saline plaques on coarse sand. The sedimentary granulometry varies according to the addition of fine elements.

Source: EUNIS habitat classification