EUNIS habitat classification 2017 > U - Inland habitats with no or little soil and mostly with sparse vegetation > U3 - Inland cliffs, rock pavements and outcrops > U3E - Limestone pavement

Limestone pavement

Description (English)

Limestone pavements are landforms resulting from dissolution processes exerted on hard limestone tables probably formed by ancient glacial erosion and subsequent weathering. They occur in or around the Alps and the Apennines and in northern Atlantic and Baltic regions and comprise flat or sloping surfaces of limestone separated by a network of vertical fissures. The size, shape and regularity of the blocks vary according to the local character of the bedrock and the climate, and much of the surface is bare but slowly accumulating soil. The shelter of crevices provides a variety of situations for colonisation. Drought-resistant communities of cushions of bryophytes and lichens and fragments of dry tufted grasslands can occur in exposed situations, whereas there is a more luxuriant vegetation of ferns, herbs, shrubs and trees at sheltered sites. Wind and herbivores often curtail any surface spread. The composition of the flora contrasts markedly between the major areas of occurrence.

Source: EUNIS habitat classification

Quick facts

EUNIS habitat type	code U3E
Relation to	Resolution 4 habitat type (used for designation of Emerald sites)

Legal status

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
Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats	Revised Annex I of Resolution 4 (1996) of the Bern Convention on endangered natural habitats types using the EUNIS habitat classification (year of revision 2010)	* Limestone pavements	8240	Same	https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc....ckColorLogged=FDC864 Resolution No. 4 (1996) of the Bern Convention lists endangered natural habitats requiring specific conservation measures [and the designation of Areas of Special Conservation Interest (ASCIs) forming the Emerald network]

Vegetation types

Relation to vegetation types (syntaxa)

Not available

Species mentioned in habitat description

Not available

Other classifications

Classification	Code	Habitat type name	Relationship type
EUNIS Habitat Classification 2007 (revised descriptions 2012)	H3.5	Almost bare rock pavements, including limestone pavements	same
European Red List of Habitats	H3.5a	Limestone pavement	same

For relation to plant communities (syntaxa), see Vegetation types

History

Classification	Code	Habitat type name	Relationship type
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200410	H3.5	Almost bare rock pavements, including limestone pavements	same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200308	H3.5	Almost bare rock pavements, including limestone pavements	same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200202	H3.5	Almost bare rock pavements, including limestone pavements	same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199910	H3.5	Almost bare rock pavements, including limestone pavements	same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199811	H3.5	Almost bare rock pavements, including limestone pavements	same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199712	H3.5	Almost-bare rock pavements, including limestone pavements	same
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 199905	62.3	Pavements	same
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1997	62.3	Pavements	same
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1996	62.3		same
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1993	62.3		same
CORINE Biotopes Classification 1991	62.3		same
CORINE Biotopes Classification 1989	62.3		same

Write to us

Call us

Sections