Permanent non-tidal, smooth-flowing watercourse
Quick facts
Red List habitat type | code RLC2.3 |
---|---|
Threat status | |
Europe | Least Concern |
EU | Near Threatened |
Relation to |
|
Source | European Red List habitat factsheet |
European Red List of habitats reports | |
European Red List of habitats (Excel table) |
Summary
This habitat includes permanent watercourses with non-turbulent water and their associated pelagic and benthic animal, algal and plant communities. The habitat includes slow-flowing rivers, streams, brooks, rivulets, rills and also relatively fast-flowing rivers with laminar flow. The bed is typically composed of sand or mud. Features of the river bed, uncovered by low water or permanently emerging, such as sand or mud islands and bars are treated as littoral zone (C3) and are not included in this habitat. This habitat includes stretches of streams and river at mid and low-altitude with an average flow velocity below 0.2 m/sec. Main physical differences between this habitat type and C.2.2b (Permanent non-tidal, fast, turbulent watercourses of plains and mountain regions with Ranunculus ssp.) are the lower flow velocity and the smaller grain size of the sediments. These two habitats may be related as segments of the same stream or river. The water is mesotrophic and buffered.
The vegetation is mainly constituted by rooted and floating Euro-Asiatic macrophytes, mainly with potamid, batrachid and utricularid growth forms, which belong to the Potamogetonion and Batrachion fluitantis communities. Potamid vegetation can be accompanied in slowly flowing parts of the river bed by nymphaeid species such as Nymphaea alba and Nuphar lutea. Also amphibian macrophytes may occur in this habitat with their aquatic form. Vegetation cover of the habitat, usually, does not exceed 30% of the total area of a river stretch.
Indicators of good quality:
- Morphologically unaltered river bed and banks
- Natural hydrological regime
- Avoid of dominance of algae and floating algae beds (FLAB)
- No or limited formation of floating mats of organic residuals
- No or limited occurrence of exotic species
- Limited extension of nymphaeid vegetation or species indicating high eutrophication
Threat status
Synthesis of Red List assessment
EU | |
Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
Near Threatened | C/D1 |
Europe | |
Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
Least Concern | - |
Confidence in the assessment
Pressures and threats
- Mining, extraction of materials and energy production
- Sand and gravel extraction
- Biological resource use other than agriculture & forestry
- Fishing and harvesting aquatic resources
- Pollution
- Pollution to surface waters (limnic, terrestrial, marine & brackish)
- Invasive, other problematic species and genes
- Invasive non-native species
- Natural System modifications
- Human induced changes in hydraulic conditions
Habitat restoration potential
Trends in extent |
|
Average current trend in quantity |
|
Decreasing ![]() |
Decreasing ![]() |
EU28 | EU28+ |
Trends in quality |
|
Average current trend in quality |
|
Decreasing ![]() |
Decreasing ![]() |
EU28 | EU28+ |
Conservation and management needs
List of conservation and management needs
- Measures related to agriculture and open habitats
- Other agriculture-related measures
- Measures related to wetland, freshwater and coastal habitats
- Restoring/Improving water quality
- Restoring/Improving the hydrological regime
- Managing water abstraction
- Measures related to hunting, taking and fishing and species management
- Regulation/Management of fishery in limnic systems
- Specific single species or species group management measures
- Measures related to urban areas, industry, energy and transport
- Urban and industrial waste management
Distribution
Geographic occurrence and trends
EU28 | Present or presence uncertain | Current area of habitat (Km2) | Recent trend in quantity (last 50 years) | Recent trend in quality (last 50 years) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Austria | Present | unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Belgium | Present | 40 | Decreasing | Stable |
Bulgaria | Present | 102 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Croatia | Present | 30 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Czech Republic | Present | 80 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Finland mainland | Present | 70 | Decreasing | Unknown |
Aland Islands | Present | 70 | Decreasing | Unknown |
France mainland | Present | unknown | Decreasing | Stable |
Corsica | Present | unknown | Decreasing | Stable |
Germany | Present | unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Greece (mainland and other islands) | Present | 0.23 | Unknown | Unknown |
Crete | Present | 0.23 | Unknown | Unknown |
East Aegean | Present | 0.23 | Unknown | Unknown |
Hungary | Present | May-50 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Ireland | Present | unknown | Decreasing | Unknown |
Italy mainland | Present | 9 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Sardinia | Present | 9 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Sicily | Present | 9 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Lithuania | Present | 150-160 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Netherlands | Present | 24-60 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Portugal mainland | Present | 3.42 | Unknown | Increasing |
Portugal Azores | Present | 3.42 | Unknown | Increasing |
Madeira | Present | 3.42 | Unknown | Increasing |
Savage Islands | Present | 3.42 | Unknown | Increasing |
Romania | Present | 0.3 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Slovenia | Present | 15 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Spain mainland | Present | 15 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Balearic Islands | Present | 15 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Canary Islands | Present | 15 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
United Kingdom | Present | unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Northern Island | Present | unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Gibraltar | Present | unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Cyprus | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Denmark | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Estonia | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Latvia | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Luxembourg | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Malta | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Poland | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Slovakia | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Sweden | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
EU28 + | Present or presence uncertain | Current area of habitat (Km2) | Recent trend in quantity (last 50 years) | Recent trend in quality (last 50 years) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Present | 400 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Switzerland | Present | unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Albania | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Andorra | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Faroe Islands | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Guernsey | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Iceland | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Isle of Man | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Jersey | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Kaliningrad | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Kosovo | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Liechtestein | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Montenegro | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Norway Mainland | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Svalbard | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Jan Mayen | Uncertain | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
San Marino | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Serbia | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Extent of Occurrence, Area of Occupancy and habitat area
Extent of Occurrence (EOO) (Km2) | Area of Occupancy (AOO) | Current estimated Total Area | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|
EU28 | 8070300 | 7998 | 812-903 | Only 50% of the countries provided the total area. |
EU28+ | 7998 | 1282-1373 | Only 33% of the countries provided the total area. |
EOO = the area (km2) of the envelope around all occurrences of a habitat (calculated by a minimum convex polygon).