Natura 2000 Interpretation Manual of European Union
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NATURA 2000 INTERPRETATION MANUAL OF EUROPEAN UNION HABITATS Version EUR 15 Q) .c Ol c: 0 "iii 0 ·"'a <>c: ~ u.. C: ~"' @ *** EUROPEAN COMMISSION ** ** DGXI ... * * Environment, Nuclear Security and Civil Protection 0 *** < < J J ) NATURA 2000 INTERPRETATION MANUAL OF EUROPEAN UNION HABITATS Version EUR 15 This 111anual is a scientific reference document adopted by the habitats committee on 25 April 1996 Compiled by : Carlos Romio (DG. XI • 0.2) This document is edited by Directorate General XI "Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection" of the European Commission; author service: Unit XI.D.2 "Nature Protection, Coastal Zones and Tourism". 200 rue de Ia Loi, B-1049 Bruxelles, with the assistance of Ecosphere- 3, bis rue des Remises, F-94100 Saint-Maur-des-Fosses. Neither the European Commission, nor any person acting on its behalf, is responsible for the use which may be made of this document. Contents WHY THIS MANUAL?---------------- 1 Historical review ............................................... 1 The Manual .................................................... 1 THE EUR15 VERSION 3 Biogeographical regions .......................................... 3 Vegetation levels ................................................ 4 Explanatory notes ............................................... 5 COASTAL AND HALOPHYTIC HABITATS 6 Open sea and tidal areas . 6 Sea cliffs and shingle or stony beaches ............................ 10 Atlantic and continental salt marshes and salt meadows . 12 Mediterranean and thermo-Atlantic saltmarshes and salt meadows .... 14 Salt and gypsum continental steppes . 15 COASTAL SAND DUNES AND CONTINENTAL DUNES 17 Sea dunes of the Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic coasts ............... 17 Sea dunes of the Mediterranean coast . 22 Continental dunes, old and decalcified . 24 FRESHWATER HABITATS 26 Standing water . 26 Running water . 29 TEMPERATE HEATH AND SCRUB------------ 33 SCLEROPHYLLOUS SCRUB (MATORRAL) 40 Sub-Mediterranean and temperate . 40 Mediterranean arborescent matorral ......................... o • o • • 41 Thermo-Mediterranean and pre-steppe brush .... 0 ••• o • 0 0 ••••••••• 0 43 Phrygana . 44 NATURAL AND SEMI-NATURAL GRASSLAND FORMATIONS 46 Natural grasslands .. 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 46 Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies . 49 Sclerophillous grazed forests (dehesas) . 53 Semi-natural tall-herb humid meadows 0 •••• 0 •••••• 0 ••••••••••••• 0 53 Mesophile grasslands ............... 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 55 RAISED BOGS AND MIRES AND FENS 57 Sphagnum acid bogs . o ••••••••••••••••••••••••• 0 ••••••••• 0 • • • • • 57 Calcareous fens .. 0 •••••••••••••••••••• o ••••••••••••••••••••• 0 • 60 Aapa mires . 63 ROCKY HABITATS AND CAVES 64 Scree ........................................................ 64 Chasmophytic vegetation on rocky slopes . 67 Other rocky habitats . 70 FORESTS 72 Boreal forests ................... 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 72 Forests of temperate Europe . 73 Mediterranean deciduous forests . 82 Mediterranean sclerophyllous forests . 87 Alpine and subalpine coniferous forests . 90 Mediterranean mountainous coniferous forests . 91 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM NATIONAL EXPERTS --------------------------- 97 DETAILED ANNEX I TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------- 99 Why this manual ~ HISTORICAL REVIEW preparing the Directive as a working document in August 1989. Numerous discussions with the e "Habitats" Directive<1> is a Community national experts then took place between 1989 and egislative instrument in the field of nature 1991, culminating in the version of Annex I Tionservation that establishes a common published in the Official Journal in May 1992. framework for the conservation of wild animal and In December 1991, while the Directive was being plant species and natural habitats of Community adopted, a thorough revision of the CORINE importance ; it provides for the creation of a classification was published<4>. This revision network of special areas of conservation, called introduced numerous changes within codes and Natura 2000, to "maintain and restore, at favourable habitat types, in particular involving the division conservation status, natural habitats and species of of the latter into subtypes. Definitions had been wild fauna and flora of Community interest". prepared for the various categories. Consequently, Animal and plant species names are clearly the Annex I codes no longer corresponded fully to presented in the Directive and, despite minor the codes and descriptive content of the various misspellings or use of synonyms, no major categories of CORINE, resulting in considerable additional work needs to be done to allow a correct ambiguities in the interpretation of Annex I on the interpretation of Annex II. In contrast, the basis of the CORINE classification. The Task development of a common agreed definition Force/European Environment Agency thus appeared to be essential for the different habitat produced a paper establishing the correspondence types of Annex I. between the habitat codes of Annex I and those of the 1991 version of the CORINE classification<5>. Annex I lists 164 European natural habitat types<2>, This paper also included the description proposed including 46 priority (i.e. habitat types in danger of in the 1991 CORINE version for the various habitat disappearance and whose natural range mainly types of Annex I. falls within the territory of the European Union). Annex I is based on the hierarchical classification of THE MANUAL European habitats developed by the CORINE Biotopes project<3> since that was the only existing aving in mind all these difficulties of classification at European level. A draft list of classification, the Scientific Working habitat types for Annex I was therefore drawn up HGroup, set up by the Habitats Committee on the basis of this classification by Professor A. (established by Directive 92/43/EEC), expressed Noirfalise and submitted to the national experts in May 1992 the need to prepare a manual for the (l) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, O.J. L206, 22.07.92. (2) This figure corresponds only to the principal habitat types listed in Annex I ; if sub-types are taken into account, this figure increases to more than 200. 3 < > CORINE Biotopes - Technical Handbook, volume 1, p. 73-109, Corine/Biotopes/89-2.2, 19 May 1988, partially updated 14 Febnlary 1989. 4 < >CORINE Biotopes manual, Habitats of the European Community. BUR 12587/3, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1991. (S) Relation between the Directive 92/43/EEC Annex I habitats and the CORINE habitats list 1991 (BUR 12587 /3). Version 1- Draft, November 1992. CEC-DG XI, Task Force Agency (EEA-TF). -------------------- Interpretation Manual of European Union Habitats -111996- - Why this manual?--------------------------- On April 1995 the Habitats Committee approved interpretation of Annex I. Following a call for the EUR12 version of the 'Interpretation Manual of proposals the Commission charged Professor European Union Habitats'<9> , which incorporated : Thanghe from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles to prepare a draft manual<6>. • the descriptive sheets<10> for priority habitats, which establish clear, operational Following several meetings of the Scientific scientific definitions of habitat types, using Working Group, the Commission agreed the two pragmatic descriptive elements (e.g. following points with the national experts : characteristic plants), and taking into (1) The interpretation work on Annex I should consideration regional variation ; primarily focus on the priority habitat types. • the descriptive sheets of 36 non priority (2) The CORINE classification (1991 version) habitats similar to those used for priority provides a basis for a description of the habitats; Annex I habitat types; where the experts feel • the CORINE Biotopes definitions 3 for the that it is not suitable, an operational scientific remaining non priority habitats(lO) ; these description should be produced from the definitions should be considered 'a minimal contributions of the national experts. interpretation', not exclusive ; some CORINE In September 1993 the Universite Libre de definitions do not take account of sub-types, Bruxelles finalised the study relating to the regional varieties and/ or do not cover all the interpretation of Annex I priority habitat types. geographical range of an habitat type - this This study focused on the drafting of an eight field fact should be recognised, thus allowing a descriptive sheet drawn up on the basis of written certain flexibility in the interpretation of these and oral scientific contributions from the national Annex I habitat types. experts. Each sheet gathers the information on The contents of the manual did not take into national and regional particularities, as well as account the accession of Austria, Finland and types of associated habitats. The manual for the Sweden which has resulted in the inclusion of a interpretation of Annex I priority habitat types of new biogeographical region (the Boreal region) in the Council Directive 92/43 /EEC was compiled by the Directive. These new Member States have the Commission (DG XI), based on the study of the asked for the introduction in Annex I of several Universite Libre de Bruxelles, the contributions of priority habitat types that are restricted or only the national