Stable aggregations of unattached perennial vegetation on Baltic infralittoral coarse sediment
Quick facts
Red List habitat type | code BAL13 |
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Threat status | |
Europe | Least Concern |
EU | Least Concern |
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
This habitat is distributed on Baltic bottoms in the photic zone with at least 90% coverage of coarse sediment. Coarse sediment has less than 20% of mud/silt/clay fraction (<63 μm), and the proportion of gravel and pebbles (grain size 2–63 mm) exceeds 30% of the combined gravel and sand fraction according to the HELCOM HUB classification. Stable aggregations of unattached perennial vegetation cover at least 10%, while perennial attached erect groups or Mytilus cover less than 10% of the bottom. The habitat is rare but can be found in the photic zone of most of the Baltic Sea area where the salinity is <10 or 5 psu (depending on the area), the exposure is moderate to sheltered, and the seabed is level over wide areas.
Three associated biotopes with different dominant species of vegetation (at least 50% of the biovolume of the unattached perennial vegetation - Fucus spp. (typical or dwarf form) and Furcellaria lumbricalis) have been identified. ‘Baltic photic coarse sediment dominated by stable aggregations of unattached Fucus spp. (typical form)’ (AA.I1Q1) and ‘Baltic photic coarse sediment dominated by stable aggregations of unattached Furcellaria lumbricalis’ (AA.I1Q3) are encountered at 0.5 to 5 meters depth. Unattached Furcellaria lumbricalis may occur in specific, ball-shaped morphology adapted to soft bottom conditions, historically described as Furcellaria cf.aegagropila. ‘Baltic photic coarse sediment dominated by stable aggregations of unattached Fucus spp. (dwarf form)’ (AA.I1Q2) forms a characteristic biotope of shallow bays and lagoons between 0.25 and 2.5 m. This specific morphology of the Fucus spp. dwarf form lacks bladders and holdfasts; it is regularly dichotomous branched with branches of similar length resulting in a fan-shaped appearance of the thalli. The single plants can be loosely anchored in the sediment with its lower, dark brownish parts. The thalli are very fragile, break very easily into pieces and thus generate new thalli. Under more exposed conditions plants form a ball-shaped form, able to roll over the sea bottom. The Fucus dwarf forms coexist with attached F. vesiculosus, unattached Furcellaria lumbricalis, higher plants like Ruppia spp., Zannichellia palustris, Stuckenia pectinatus (formerly known as Potamogeton pectinatus), Zostera spp. and several Charophytes. The biotope exists in lower mesohaline salinities (7–10 psu) and moderately exposed to very sheltered conditions. The unattached thalli can cover the sediment up to about 10 cm height and thus form a three-dimensional habitat comparable to the interstitial space in coarse sediments. Epifauna is seldom attached to the Fucus dwarf form, but in between the loose lying thalli mobile gastropods, amphipods and insects look for shelter and food. However, if abundances of the unattached form are very high, the sediment below becomes deoxygenated and the associated infauna below the Fucus layer may die. Presently the dwarf form biotope is only known to occur in Sweden and Germany. In Germany it exists only in very few coastal lagoons with low to moderate eutrophication pressures and salinities of around 7–10 psu.
Indicators of quality:
Both biotic and abiotic indicators have been used to describe marine habitat quality. These include: the presence of characteristic species as well as those which are sensitive to the pressures the habitat may face; water quality parameters; levels of exposure to particular pressure, and more integrated indices which describe habitat structure and function, such as trophic index, or successional stages of development in habitats that have a natural cycle of change over time.
There are no commonly agreed indicators of quality for this habitat, although particular parameters may have been set in certain situations e.g. protected features within Natura 2000 sites, where reference values have been determined and applied on a location-specific basis. Density of unattached Fucus spp. (typical and dwarf forms), the lower limit of the Furcellaria belt, the amount of epiphytic algae, and density of Furcellaria are potential indicators of quality of this habitat.
Threat status
Synthesis of Red List assessment
The overall assessment for this EUNIS level 4 habitat has been based on the HELCOM (2013) assessments for the associated HELCOM HUB biotopes. Draft assessments were derived using a weighted approach whereby the HELCOM assessment outcomes were assigned a score. This was averaged across the relevant biotopes. The outcomes were reviewed by Baltic experts to reach a final conclusion. HELCOM (2013) assessed the unattached dwarf form of Fucus (AA.I1Q2) as Endangered (A1). The other associated biotopes (AA.I1Q1 and AA.I1Q3) were assessed as Least Concern (A1). The dwarf form may not be present on coarse sediments or is very rare. With no additional information on changes in extent or quality of this habitat, its known occurrence in all the Baltic Sea subbasins, and less than a 25% decline in quantity over the last 50 years, current expert opinion is that this habitat should be assessed as Least Concern for the EU 28 and EU 28+.
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
- Biological resource use other than agriculture & forestry
- Fishing and harvesting aquatic resources
- Pollution
- Pollution to surface waters (limnic, terrestrial, marine & brackish)
- Nutrient enrichment (N, P, organic matter)
- Input of contaminants (synthetic substances, non-synthetic substances, radionuclides) - diffuse sources, point sources, acute events
- Climate change
- Changes in abiotic conditions
- Temperature changes (e.g. rise of temperature & extremes)
- Changes in biotic conditions
- Habitat shifting and alteration
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 |
|
Unknown ![]() |
Unknown ![]() |
EU28 | EU28+ |
Conservation and management needs
List of conservation and management needs
- Measures related to wetland, freshwater and coastal habitats
- Restoring/Improving water quality
- Measures related to spatial planning
- Establish protected areas/sites
- Legal protection of habitats and species
Distribution
Geographic occurrence and trends
Seas | 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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Baltic Proper | Present | Unknown | Unknown | Decreasing |
Belt Sea | ||||
Gulf of Bothnia | ||||
Gulf of Finland | ||||
Gulf of Riga | ||||
The Sound |
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 | 650,629 | 417 | Unknown | This habitat is present in all the Baltic sub-basins. |
EU28+ | >50 | Unknown | This habitat is present in all the Baltic sub-basins |
EOO = the area (km2) of the envelope around all occurrences of a habitat (calculated by a minimum convex polygon).