Subarctic and alpine dwarf Salix scrub
Quick facts
| Red List habitat type | code RLF2.1 |
|---|---|
| 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
Subarctic and alpine snowbed and snow-patch communities dominated by dwarf willows. The habitat type occurs north of or above the climatic tree limit, but outside the permafrost zone. Salix species characteristic to this habitat type are usually under 10 cm in height, and rarely exceed 1,5 m. Dwarf scrub is well developed in boreal and arctic mountains and subarctic lowlands.
The habitat type occurs in boreal and arcto-alpine mountains of Fennoscandia, in the Alps, Pyrenees, Carpathians and Caucasus. Occurrences of the habitat type exist locally also in southern mountains in Europe. In mountains of the nemoral and warm-temperate zones, stands of dwarf willow scrub are of much smaller extent and are characteristic of late-lying snow patches.
The habitat type is found on both siliceous and calcareous bedrock, being more species-rich in the latter. There is no single characteristic species describing all the occurrences, but the vegetation varies in different geographic areas and according to the substrate. Communities vary from acidophile–acidocline vegetation with typical species like Salix herbacea, Carex firma, Salix retusa, Aster alpinus and Carex sempervirens (alliances Salicion herbaceae, Cassiopo-Salicion herbaceae, Salici herbaceae-Caricion lachenalii) to calciphile–calcicline vegetation (alliances Arabidion caeruleae). Typical species of the latter are e.g. Salix polaris, Salix reticulata, Salix retusa, (incl. Salix kitaibeliana), Poa alpina, Selaginella selaginoides and Bistorta vivipara.
The communities are adapted to short growing season and late-lying snow, which lasts up to 8–10 months. The humus layer is thin and the soil is gravel or sand. After melting, the habitat can be rather dry in summer. Dwarf willows dominate the vegetation, but mosses and lichens are also abundant.
Snowbed communities dominated by grasses, forbs or mosses do not belong to this habitat type, but are included in type E4.1.
Indicators of good quality:
The following characteristics are indicators of good quality:
- Dominance of dwarf willows
- Late-lying snow cover
Threat status
Synthesis of Red List assessment
| EU | |
| Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
| Near Threatened | A2a, C/D2 |
| Europe | |
| Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
| Least Concern | - |
Confidence in the assessment
Pressures and threats
- Agriculture
- Intensive grazing
- Human intrusions and disturbances
- Outdoor sports and leisure activities, recreational activities
- Skiing complex
- Trampling, overuse
- Climate change
- Temperature changes (e.g. rise of temperature & extremes)
- Droughts and less precipitations
- Habitat shifting and alteration
Habitat restoration potential
Trends in extent |
|
Average current trend in quantity |
|
Stable  |
Stable |
| EU28 | EU28+ |
Trends in quality |
|
Average current trend in quality |
|
Decreasing  |
Decreasing |
| EU28 | EU28+ |
Conservation and management needs
List of conservation and management needs
- No measures
- No measure known / impossible to carry out specific measures
- Measures related to spatial planning
- Establish protected areas/sites
- Legal protection of habitats and species
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain mainland | Present | 23 | Unknown | Stable |
| Bulgaria | Present | unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
| Romania | Present | 0.2 | Decreasing | Stable |
| Slovenia | Present | 1 | Decreasing | Stable |
| Finland mainland | Present | 12 | Stable | Stable |
| France mainland | Present | 172 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
| Germany | Present | 1 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
| Italy mainland | Present | 150 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
| Poland | Present | 3.5 | Stable | Stable |
| Slovakia | Present | 0.2 | Stable | Stable |
| Austria | Present | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Sweden | Present | 565 | Stable | 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | Present | 600 | Stable | Stable |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Present | 2 | Stable | Stable |
| Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) | Present | unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
| Iceland | Present | 380 | Unknown | Unknown |
| Liechtestein | Present | unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Norway Mainland | Present | 3417 | Stable | Stable |
| Svalbard | Present | 3417 | Stable | Stable |
| Jan Mayen | Present | 3417 | Stable | Stable |
Extent of Occurrence, Area of Occupancy and habitat area
| Extent of Occurrence (EOO) (Km2) | Area of Occupancy (AOO) | Current estimated Total Area | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU28 | 4964700 | 231 | 928 | Lacking data mainly from Austria |
| EU28+ | 280 | 5327 | Main area of this habitat is in Norway (incl. Svalbard). |
EOO = the area (km2) of the envelope around all occurrences of a habitat (calculated by a minimum convex polygon).
