Permanent inland saline and brackish waterbody

This habitat type includes non-coastal brackish, saline or hypersaline lakes, ponds or pools. These water bodies may have been directly related to the sea in the past, but are currently separated from any sea influence. They develop in arid and semi-arid climatic conditions, in endorheic drainage basins (which are not connected to other water bodies such as rivers, and therefore the water does not drain to the sea), like in the Pannonian Basin or in smaller basins in the Mediterranean area. In these conditions permanent or temporary lakes become saline due to evaporation that concentrates dissolved salts that either have been introduced by rainwater or have been caught from substrata within the drainage basin. This habitat also includes saline intermittently flowing Mediterranean rivers, running on substrata with high salt content. These watercourses frequently dry out in summer, leaving shallow pools colonized by aquatic halophytes. Salinity and concentrations of chloride may vary from brackish to hypersaline water, depending on rain fall, evaporation rate and the basin substrate. In general brackish waters comply to a minimum salinity of 0.5‰. The water level may vary as well and can have high seasonal fluctuations up to the complete drying out in summer in the most arid and warm areas of Europe. Water is alkaline and highly buffered by bicarbonate (high alkalinity). Phosphorus- and sulphate concentrations can be relatively high (for submerged macrophyte vegetation), which may be related to high sulphur concentration in the sediment. The habitat represents a dynamic environment due to the variations in water quality and quantity as mentioned above. Species composition is largely determined by the presence of brackish water and the variability in salinity.

he vegetation growing in this habitat type is characterized by halophytes adapted to these circumstances. In general, the species composition is poor and the vegetation often consists of monospecific communities. Characteristic halophytes are Najas marina, N. minor, Ruppia maritima, Batrachium (=Ranunculus) baudotii and Zannichellia palustris, Z. pedunculata, Z. obtusifolia. Besides vascular plants, some stonewort are characteristic species, like Tolypella nidifica, Chara canescens, Ch. baltica, Ch. aspera, Ch. intermedia and Ch. vulgaris. Species with a broad habitat range may extend to these brackish waters, like Lemna spp. (L. gibba, L. minor, L. trisulca), Potamogeton spp. (P. crispus, P. natans, P. pectinatus), Callitriche spp. (C. lenisulca, C. stagnalis, C. truncate subsp. fimbriata), Ceratophyllum demersum, Myriophyllum spicatum, Batrachium spp., and Nymphae alba.

The shores of these saline water bodies are characterized by emergent vegetation dominated by macrophytes tolerant to brackish water, such as Phragmites australis, Scirpus tabernaemontani, Bolboschoenus maritimus, Typha laxmannii, Cladium mariscus and Carex melanostachya. However, such shore communities are included in habitat C5.4. Similar communities in coastal dune slacks are included under the habitats B1.8a or B1.8b. The habitat is important for several species of invertebrates and forms a feeding ground for birds. Because salt and ion concentrations are dependent on the evaporation rate, this habitat type is strongly related to climatic conditions. Therefore it is sensitive to climate change. Within Europe this habitat is rare. The largest sites are found in the Pannonian basin, for example the Neusiedler See.

Indicators of good quality:

The following characteristics may be used as indicators of a good quality:

• Minimum salinity around 0.5 ‰
• Natural high electrical conductivity of the water
• No alteration of the natural salinity range
• Aquatic vegetation and species characteristic of brackish water
• Absence of overgrowing with shrubs and trees
• No signs of eutrophication (no dominance of algae such as Cladophora sp., Enteromorpha sp., Vaucheria sp.)
• No indicator of negative anthropogenic influence (e.g. regulation of the water level, chemical pollution)

Synthesis of Red List assessment

Confidence in the assessment

Pressures and threats