Mediterranean inland salt steppe
Quick facts
Red List habitat type | code RLE6.1 |
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Threat status | |
Europe | Vulnerable |
EU | Vulnerable |
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 vegetation of this habitat is dominated by succulent plants of the Chenopodiaceae family and perennial, rosette-forming Limonium species as well as other salt-tolerant Mediterranean plants and sometimes also albardín (esparto like) grass (Lygeum spartum) in the less saline stretches of the gradient. This habitat occurs in the Mediterranean area, in continental or coastal areas but far from the influence of the sea, under severe climatic drought conditions where endorrheic (non or poorly-drained) clay basins accumulate soluble salts diluted from the surroundings. Several circumstances need to occur for this to happen: a long and deep summer drought, geological material with abundance of soluble salts (often sulfates) and a flat or gentle topography in which such basins can take place, such as the large depressions of some fluvial systems. Under such conditions, soils are temporarily permeated (though not inundated) by saline water and subject to extreme summer drying, with formation of salt efflorescence which is conspicuous during the dry periods, particularly the summer, and forms a white crust of salt micro-crystals. The most characteristic vegetation is represented by the following species: Sarcocornietea fruticosi (Limonietalia and Sarcocornietalia), Juncetea maritimi (Juncetalia maritimi), Thero-Suaedetea (Thero-Salicornietalia) and Saginetea maritimae (Frankenietalia pulverulentae). Different communities belonging to these units appear in the interior salty steppes in a diversity of combinations depending on the geography, salt concentration and climatic conditions. Often they are surrounded by a ring of Lygeum spartum (albardín) or Stipa tenacissima (esparto) grassland in the foothill of the depression together with the succulents, a high number of narrow endemic species of Limonium occur in those communities and with a number of broader distributed reeds (Juncus) and annuals. This vegetation complex presents a phenology in which annuals develop in early spring and perennials in late summer, in a successive flowering pattern which is particularly useful for the local herding management which has to survive the very severe summer drought.
In many areas of the Iberian Peninsula, these salt steppes have been traditionally grazed by sheep or goats, and such use has been compatible with its conservation in good conditions, with all the halophile species and some others linked with grazing activity. Nevertheless, in recent times, as a result of an ancient belief in the local population that these areas could be transformed into arable land, some disastrous initiatives have taken place such as draining, tilling, fertilizing and others, which have caused severe damage to this habitat. This has been done in spite of being declared as a priority habitat by the European Union (EU), in part due to the pressure of the local rural population wills, with the goal of converting these poor and sterile areas into productive ones.
Indicators of good quality:
- Dominance of halophile species
- A medium to high vegetation cover
- Absence of nitrophilic species linked to human activities
- No visible anthropic disturbances due to draining, tilling, building activities, rubbish accumulation or intensive trampling
Flora:
Threat status
Synthesis of Red List assessment
EU | |
Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
Vulnerable | A1 |
Europe | |
Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
Vulnerable | A1 |
Confidence in the assessment
Pressures and threats
- Agriculture
- Grassland removal for arable land
- Urbanisation, residential and commercial development
- Urbanised areas, human habitation
- Human intrusions and disturbances
- Walking, horseriding and non-motorised vehicles
- Motorised vehicles
- Pollution
- Pollution to surface waters (limnic, terrestrial, marine & brackish)
- Invasive, other problematic species and genes
- Invasive non-native species
- Natural System modifications
- Modification of hydrographic functioning, general
Habitat restoration potential
Trends in extent |
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Average current trend in quantity |
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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
- 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) |
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France mainland | Present | 40 | Stable | Decreasing |
Greece (mainland and other islands) | Present | 6 | Decreasing | Stable |
Italy mainland | Present | 28.42 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Sardinia | Present | 28.42 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Sicily | Present | 28.42 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Portugal mainland | Present | 12.4 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Spain mainland | Present | 106.58 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
EU28 + | Present or presence uncertain | Current area of habitat (Km2) | Recent trend in quantity (last 50 years) | Recent trend in quality (last 50 years) |
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Extent of Occurrence, Area of Occupancy and habitat area
Extent of Occurrence (EOO) (Km2) | Area of Occupancy (AOO) | Current estimated Total Area | Comment | |
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EU28 | 1989600 | 624 | 193 | |
EU28+ | 624 | 193 |
EOO = the area (km2) of the envelope around all occurrences of a habitat (calculated by a minimum convex polygon).