EUNIS habitat classification 2012 amended 2019 > B - Coastal habitats > B2 - Coastal shingle > B2.1 - Shingle beach driftlines

Shingle beach driftlines

English name: Shingle beach driftlines

Description (English)

The lowest level of the supralittoral, just above the normal tide limit, where drift material accumulates and the shingle may be rich in nitrogenous organic matter. Vegetation, if present at all, is very open and composed of annuals or, particularly by the Mediterranean, especially the east Mediterranean, of annuals and perennials, occupying accumulations of drift material and gravels rich in nitrogenous organic matter; characteristic are Cakile maritima, Salsola kali, Atriplex spp., Polygonum spp., Euphorbia peplis, Mertensia maritima, and, particularly in Mediterranean formations, Glaucium flavum, Matthiola sinuata, Matthiola tricuspidata, Euphorbia paralias, Eryngium maritimum.

Source:
EUNIS habitat classification
Interpretation Manual of the habitats targeted by Resolution No. 4

Quick facts

EUNIS habitat type	code B2.1
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

Legal text	Annex	More information
Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats (Bern Convention)	Revised Annex I of Resolution 4 (1996) of the Bern Convention on endangered natural habitats types using the EUNIS habitat classification (year of revision 2014)	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]

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	Annual vegetation of drift lines	1210	Overlap	http://ec.europa.eu/environm...rective/index_en.htm
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	Baltic esker islands with sandy, rocky and shingle beach vegetation and sublittoral vegetation	1610	Overlap

Vegetation types

Relation to vegetation types (syntaxa)

Name	Definition	Alternatives	Reftext
Atriplicion littoralis Nordhagen 1940	North Atlantic and Baltic strandline communities on silty substrates	Atriplici sabulosae-Salsolion kali Géhu 1975 nom. mut. propos.; Atriplici laciniatae-Salsolion kali Géhu 1975; Cakilion Oberd. 1949; Cakilion Oberd. 1950	Schaminee et al, 2012
Cakilion edentulae Thannheiser 1981	Halo-nitrophilous strandline vegetation of boreo-atlantic European and Azorean coasts		Schaminee et al, 2012
Honckenyo diffusae-Leymion mollis Géhu 1999	Vegetation of grassy swards on rocky and sandy beaches of shores of Greenland		Schaminee et al, 2012
Elymo littorei-Rumicion crispi (Nordhagen 1940) Isermann et Dengler in Isermann 2004	Boreo-atlantic pioneer vegetation of coastal shingle beaches enriched with organic detritus of Baltic and North Sea coasts	Agropyro-Rumicion Nordhagen 1940 nom. ambig. propos.; Elytrigio-Rumicion crispi Nordhagen 1940 nom. mut. propos.	Schaminee et al, 2012

Species mentioned in habitat description

Fishes Salsola kali

Flowering Plants Cakile maritima

Flowering Plants Eryngium maritimum

Flowering Plants Euphorbia paralias

Flowering Plants Euphorbia peplis

Flowering Plants Glaucium flavum

Flowering Plants Matthiola tricuspidata

Flowering Plants Mertensia maritima

Species scientific name	English common name	Species group
Salsola kali		Fishes
Cakile maritima		Flowering Plants
Eryngium maritimum		Flowering Plants
Euphorbia paralias		Flowering Plants
Euphorbia peplis		Flowering Plants
Glaucium flavum		Flowering Plants
Matthiola tricuspidata		Flowering Plants
Mertensia maritima		Flowering Plants

Other classifications

Classification	Code	Habitat type name	Relationship type
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 200112	17.2	Shingle beach drift lines and pioneer swards	same
CORINE Land Cover	3.3.1.	Beaches, dunes, and sand plains	n/a
HELCOM Baltic Sea Marine and Coastal Biotopes 1998	03.02.02	Beaches: gravel and shingle beaches	same
Phase 1 habitat classification (UK) 1993	H5	Strandline vegetation	wider

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

History

Classification	Code	Habitat type name	Relationship type
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200410	B2.1	Shingle beach driftlines	same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200308	B2.1	Shingle beach driftline habitats	same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200202	B2.1	Shingle beach driftline habitats	same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199910	B2.1	Shingle beach driftline habitats	same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199811	B2.1	Shingle beach driftline habitats	same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199712	B6.1	Shingle beach driftline habitats	same
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 199905	17.2	Shingle beach drift lines	same
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1997	17.2	Shingle beach drift lines	same
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1996	17.2		same
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1993	17.2		same
CORINE Biotopes Classification 1991	17.2		same
CORINE Biotopes Classification 1989	17.2		same

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