IBEROATLANTICA

Description

Dense halophilous grasslands and scrubs occupying the estuarine flats generated by the retention of suspended particles (by means of a self-reinforcing successional process) during periods of inundation in high-tide. When mature and sufficiently elevated, they are at most briefly submersed only during spring high tides.

Protection

Those stands rich in shrubs like Sarcocornia pruinosa and Suaeda vera in sandy soils (see below) are referable to the code 1420 ("Mediterranean and thermo-Atlantic halophilous scrubs [Sarcocornetea fruticosae]") in the EU Habitat Directive.

Floristic Composition

Frequent species

Juncus maritimus 78%, Agrostis stolonifera 37%, Elytrigia atherica 36%, Triglochin maritima 35%, Atriplex prostrata 32%, Tripolium pannonicum 30%, Plantago maritima 27%, Festuca rubra 25%, Bolboschoenus maritimus 24%, Carex extensa 23%, Samolus valerandi 20%, Cotula coronopifolia 20%, Glaux maritima 19%, Limonium vulgare 18%, Paspalum vaginatum 18%, Armeria maritima 18%, Juncus gerardi 17%, Limbarda crithmoides 16%, Apium graveolens 15%, Halimione portulacoides 13%, Oenanthe lachenalii 13%, Spergularia media 12%, Jacobaea aquatica 10%, Puccinellia maritima 9%, Cochlearia aestuaria 9%, Lythrum salicaria 8%, Spergularia marina 8%, Parapholis strigosa 8%, Plantago coronopus 8%, Galium palustre 6%, Centaurium tenuiflorum 6%, Stenotaphrum secundatum 6%, Thrincia saxatilis aggr. 5%, Beta vulgaris 5% view more...

Indicator species

Juncus maritimus 0.74, Agrostis stolonifera 0.37, Elytrigia atherica 0.35, Atriplex prostrata 0.29, Bolboschoenus maritimus 0.24, Carex extensa 0.22, Samolus valerandi 0.2, Festuca rubra 0.2, Cotula coronopifolia 0.19, Glaux maritima 0.18, Paspalum vaginatum 0.17, Juncus gerardi 0.16, Apium graveolens 0.15, Oenanthe lachenalii 0.13, Jacobaea aquatica 0.1, Lythrum salicaria 0.08, Plantago coronopus 0.07, Cochlearia aestuaria 0.07, Parapholis strigosa 0.06, Galium palustre 0.06, Centaurium tenuiflorum 0.06, Stenotaphrum secundatum 0.06, Thrincia saxatilis aggr. 0.05, Oenanthe crocata 0.05, Beta vulgaris 0.05, Schoenoplectus lacustris 0.05, Calystegia sepium 0.05, Spergularia marina 0.04, Carex cuprina 0.04, Phragmites australis 0.04, Symphyotrichum squamatum 0.04, Tripleurospermum maritimum 0.03, Plantago lanceolata 0.03, Lotus tenuis 0.03, Isolepis cernua 0.03, Rumex conglomeratus 0.03, Elytrigia campestris 0.03, Helosciadium nodiflorum 0.03, Carex distans 0.03, Daucus carota 0.02, Holcus lanatus 0.02, Raphanus raphanistrum 0.02, Bacopa monnieri 0.02, Rumex crispus 0.02, Dactylis glomerata 0.02, Sonchus oleraceus 0.02, Cynodon dactylon 0.02, Iris pseudacorus 0.02, Vicia tetrasperma 0.02, Sonchus maritimus 0.02, Erigeron canadensis 0.02, Erigeron acris 0.02, Althaea officinalis 0.02 view more...

Phytosociology

Agrostio stoloniferae-Juncetum maritimi
Agrostio-Paspaletum vaginati
Inulo crithmoidis-Elytrigietum athericae
Junco maritimi-Caricetum extensae
Junco maritimi-Phragmitetum australis
Puccinellio maritimae-Juncetum maritimi
Scirpetum compacti
Scirpetum compacto-tabernaemontani
Spergulario marinae-Cotuletum coronopifoliae

Relations with other habitat types

These communities replace MA224 as a consequence of sediment retention. Local deposits of litter harbor. tpically around the high-tide driftline, nitrophilous communities recalling those of the EUNIS unit MA221; whereas, in mown and pastured areas, meadows dominated by Agrostis stolonifera are common. Very locally and episodically, in ephemeral muddy clearings and margins of brackish ponds, beds of Eleocharis parvula like those typified by EUNIS as MA228 develop. Similarly, in areas almost never bathed by muddy waters, sediments are mostly sandy (sand dries-up more easily and can be mobilised by wind and deposited above the spring high-tide line) and halophytic shrubs prevail (these communities would be referable to EUNIS MA222 if further data enable their statistical recognition). Lastly, this unit also includes tall helophytic beds of Cyperaceae, especially Bolboschoenus maritimus, fringing the main channel in inner areas of the estuaries, mainly in those created by large rivers where the contribution of freshwater is higher, communities whose best match in EUNIS, in case of an eventual statistical recognition, would be Q517 (see Q51x).

MA223

Regional distribution

This unit is better or worse represented in almost all estuarine systems along the Iberoatlantic shores. Their extension and internal diversity, however, has been particularly reduced, especially in the last two centuries, by processes of polderization to gain agricultural, urban or industrial land.

Known occurrences and potential area of occupancy of the habitat type in the study region.

MA223 Atlantic upper-mid saltmarshes and saline and brackish reed, rush and sedge beds