Mediterranean short moist grassland of mountains
Quick facts
| Red List habitat type | code RLE3.2b |
|---|---|
| Threat status | |
| Europe | Least Concern |
| EU | Least Concern |
| Relation to |
|
| Source | European Red List habitat factsheet |
| European Red List of habitats reports | |
| European Red List of habitats (Excel table) |
Summary
High mountain evergreen pastures of the western Mediterranean dominated by tussocky grasses such as Nardus stricta and Festuca microphylla (= Festuca nigrescens subsp. microphylla), located in moist places such as depressions experiencing long-lasting snow cover and even a certain water stagnation. The vegetation cover is near to closed with the grasses forming a continuous sward. As they remain green and productive during summer, those meadows constitute an important resource for the transhumant flocks of sheep and cows which spend the summer at high altitudes. In the Sierra Nevada these grasslands are called borreguiles, derived from borrego, sheep, while in the rest of the areas receive the name of cervunales. This name is derived from the pasto cervuno or cebruno, the Spanish name of Nardus stricta, as it was the main grass which was the pasture of an extint Iberian endemic equidae, called Zebro (Equus hydruntinus).
The grasslands occur in the central and southern Iberian siliceous mountains of the Cordillera Central, Sierra Nevada and northern Iberian System, extending to the neighboring North African mountains of the Rif and Atlas. They also occur in the high mountains of Corsica on slightly drier sites than the D2.2b Relict mires of Medi-terranean mountains dominated by Carex intricata.
Indicators of good quality:
Closed carpet-like sward without open soil patches due to intensive grazing or trampling
Dominance of grasses, such as Nardus or Festuca, combined with an even representation of the other herbaceous species
Absence of nitrophilous species indicative of very heavy grazing pressure
Threat status
Synthesis of Red List assessment
| EU | |
| Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
| Least Concern | - |
| Europe | |
| Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
| Least Concern | - |
Confidence in the assessment
Pressures and threats
- Agriculture
- Grazing
- Abandonment of pastoral systems, lack of grazing
- Human intrusions and disturbances
- Outdoor sports and leisure activities, recreational activities
- Skiing, off-piste
- Climate change
- Droughts and less precipitations
Habitat restoration potential
Trends in extent |
|
Average current trend in quantity |
|
Stable  |
Stable |
| EU28 | EU28+ |
Trends in quality |
|
Average current trend in quality |
|
| Stable |
Stable |
| EU28 | EU28+ |
Conservation and management needs
List of conservation and management needs
- Measures related to agriculture and open habitats
- Maintaining grasslands and other open habitats
- 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal mainland | Present | 23 | Unknown | Increasing |
| Spain mainland | Present | 526 | Stable | Stable |
| Corsica | 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) |
|---|
Extent of Occurrence, Area of Occupancy and habitat area
| Extent of Occurrence (EOO) (Km2) | Area of Occupancy (AOO) | Current estimated Total Area | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU28 | 596700 | 409 | 549 | Over 95% of this habitat is in Spain and we have no data from Corsica. |
| EU28+ | 596700 | 409 | unknown |
EOO = the area (km2) of the envelope around all occurrences of a habitat (calculated by a minimum convex polygon).
