Periodically exposed saline shore with pioneer or ephemeral vegetation
Quick facts
Red List habitat type | code RLC3.5c |
---|---|
Threat status | |
Europe | Endangered |
EU | Endangered |
Relation to |
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Source | European Red List habitat factsheet |
European Red List of habitats reports | |
European Red List of habitats (Excel table) |
Summary
The habitat includes periodically flooded, saline and muddy, nutrient-rich shores and dried-up bottoms of saline standing water bodies, with low to moderate cover of short salt-adapted plant species, mostly from the Poaceae and Cyperaceae families. These include mainly annual plants, developing during the exposure phase, as well as perennial plants tolerant to temporary total flooding and brackish conditions. Typically the habitat is dominated by dwarf-grasses of the genus Crypsis (including Heleochloa).
The habitat is distributed over lowlands of the continental parts of Europe and arid Mediterranean regions. These ephemeral communities develop mostly on the bottom of small temporary brackish and saline lakes and pools. During the summer the bottom of these water bodies dry-up, colouring white from the salts. The vegetation often starts to grow only in the end of summer or in autumn. Besides, the habitat type occurs on riverbanks of some large rivers, like the Danube and Sava, in regions with a continental climate where there are some processes of salinization. The same plant communities can temporary occur in some artificial localities, such as fishponds, dams, or abandoned and flooded fields.
The dominant species in the continental regions (e.g. the Pannonian basin and adjacent territories) are Crypsis alopecuroides, Crypsis (Heleochloa) schoenoides, Crypsis (Heleochloa) aculeata, Cyperus (Acorellus) pannonicus and Polypogon monspeliensis. These species are accompanied by annual and some perennial species from the class Bidentetea tripartiate (habitat C3.5a), while also transitions towards saline inland marshes and steppes (classes Festuco-Puccinellietea, Thero-Salicornietea; habitats E6.1, E6.2, E6.3) are found. Ephemeral communities with Salicornia ssp. in general are found on less eutrophic sites, often with higher salinity. In the Mediterranean region the communities of the alliance Verbenion supinae are by most authors considered part of the class Isoeto-Nanojuncetea (habitat C3.5b), but in some communities of this alliance the species of Crypsis are a characteristic species. Here they grow together with Chenopodium chenopodioides, Fimbristylis bisumbellata, Glinus lotoides, Polypogon maritimus, Heliotropium supinum, Samolus valerandi, and Verbena supina.
Typically the habitat does not develop during years with less suitable conditions. The areas covered by these communities may vary each year in size and location. Similar plant communities occur along the coast, but in that case they are in most cases considered part of coastal salt marshes (habitat A2.5d) or dune slacks (habitat B1.8b).
Indicators of good quality:
- Natural relatively high concentration of salt in the soil
- Natural high electrical conductivity of the water
- No alteration of the natural salinity range
- Exotic species absent or rare (e.g. Xanthium spinosum, Paspalum disticum, P. diatatum, Bidens spp.)
- Absence of emergent plants, shrubs and trees
- No signs of eutrophication nor dominance of ruderal species
- No indicator of negative anthropogenic influence (e.g. regulation of the water level, chemical pollution
Threat status
Synthesis of Red List assessment
EU | |
Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
Endangered | A1 |
Europe | |
Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
Endangered | A1 |
Confidence in the assessment
Pressures and threats
- Agriculture
- Intensive grazing
- Pollution
- Pollution to surface waters (limnic, terrestrial, marine & brackish)
- Natural System modifications
- Human induced changes in hydraulic conditions
- Landfill, land reclamation and drying out, general
- Flooding modifications
- Modification of hydrographic functioning, general
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 wetland, freshwater and coastal habitats
- Restoring/Improving water quality
- Restoring/Improving the hydrological regime
- Measures related to spatial planning
- Establish protected areas/sites
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 | 12.5 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Bulgaria | Present | Unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
France mainland | Present | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Corsica | Uncertain | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Hungary | Present | 13 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Italy mainland | Present | Unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Sardinia | Present | Unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Sicily | Present | Unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Slovakia | Present | 0.0001 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Germany | Present | Marginal | Unknown | Unknown |
Romania | Present | Unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Spain mainland | Present | 9.5 | Stable | Decreasing |
Croatia | Uncertain | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Greece (mainland and other islands) | Uncertain | Unknown | Unknown | Stable |
Crete | Uncertain | Unknown | Unknown | Stable |
East Aegean | Uncertain | Unknown | Unknown | Stable |
Malta | Uncertain | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Portugal mainland | Uncertain | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Slovenia | Uncertain | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Sweden | Uncertain | 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 | 4 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Albania | Uncertain | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Kosovo | Uncertain | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Montenegro | Uncertain | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Serbia | Present | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) | 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 | 2419450 | 214 | 35 | |
EU28+ | 222 | 37 |
EOO = the area (km2) of the envelope around all occurrences of a habitat (calculated by a minimum convex polygon).
Characteristic species
Species scientific name | English common name | Species group |
---|---|---|
Centaurium pulchellum | Flowering Plants | |
Chenopodium chenopodioides | Flowering Plants | |
Chenopodium glaucum | Flowering Plants | |
Coronopus squamatus | Flowering Plants | |
Corrigiola telephiifolia | Flowering Plants | |
Cressa cretica | Flowering Plants | |
Crypsis aculeata | Flowering Plants | |
Crypsis alopecuroides | Flowering Plants | |
Cyperus flavescens | Flowering Plants | |
Digitaria debilis | Flowering Plants | |
Eleocharis carniolica | Flowering Plants | |
Euphorbia chamaesyce | Flowering Plants | |
Fimbristylis bisumbellata | Flowering Plants | |
Glinus lotoides | Flowering Plants | |
Heliotropium supinum | Flowering Plants | |
Juncus articulatus | Flowering Plants | |
Lepidium latifolium | Flowering Plants | |
Lotus tenuis | Flowering Plants | |
Panicum debile | Flowering Plants | |
Paspalum distichum | Flowering Plants | |
Peplis portula | Flowering Plants | |
Persicaria lapathifolia | Flowering Plants | |
Polypogon maritimus | Flowering Plants | |
Polypogon monspeliensis | Flowering Plants | |
Pulicaria paludosa | Flowering Plants | |
Pulicaria sicula | Flowering Plants | |
Samolus valerandi | Flowering Plants | |
Spergularia maritima | Flowering Plants | |
Trifolium fragiferum | Flowering Plants | |
Verbena supina | Flowering Plants | |
Xanthium spinosum | Flowering Plants |