IBEROATLANTICA

Description

Mesophile hay meadows subjected to one or few cuts per year, with grazing absent or restricted to brief early-spring or late-autumn periods. Traditional practices based on low-intensity management maintain high-diversity communities dominated by grasses and mesophytic herbaceous species providing hay to feed the cattle in winter.

Protection

Protected by the EU Habitat Directive under the code 6510 ("Lowland hay meadows (Alopecurus pratensis, Sanguisorba officinalis)").

Floristic Composition

Frequent species

Trifolium pratense 88%, Holcus lanatus 84%, Plantago lanceolata 81%, Cynosurus cristatus 77%, Anthoxanthum odoratum 73%, Dactylis glomerata 70%, Trifolium repens aggr. 69%, Hypochaeris radicata 57%, Rumex acetosa 51%, Lolium perenne 41%, Bromus hordeaceus aggr. 41%, Bellis perennis 40%, Ranunculus acris 38%, Arrhenatherum elatius 37%, Lotus corniculatus 37%, Poa trivialis 37%, Crepis capillaris 37%, Trisetum flavescens 36%, Trifolium dubium 36%, Cerastium fontanum 35%, Ranunculus bulbosus 32%, Gaudinia fragilis 31%, Centaurea nigra 31%, Briza media 31%, Poa pratensis 29%, Daucus carota 28%, Achillea millefolium 27%, Festuca rubra 27%, Prunella vulgaris 26%, Linum bienne 26%, Taraxacum sect. Taraxacum 26%, Rhinanthus minor 24%, Lathyrus pratensis 22%, Agrostis capillaris 22%, Medicago lupulina 21%, Ranunculus repens 20%, Lotus pedunculatus 20%, Leucanthemum vulgare 20%, Trocdaris verticillatum 20%, Sanguisorba minor 19%, Schedonorus pratensis 18%, Schedonorus arundinaceus 17%, Veronica chamaedrys 15%, Vicia sativa aggr. 15%, Malva moschata 15%, Mentha suaveolens 15%, Geranium dissectum 14%, Ajuga reptans 13%, Leontodon hispidus 13%, Brachypodium pinnatum 12%, Plantago media 11%, Silene flos-cuculi 11%, Crepis taraxacifolia 11%, Thrincia saxatilis aggr. 11%, Danthonia decumbens 11%, Stellaria graminea 10%, Rumex crispus 10%, Agrostis castellana 10%, Luzula campestris 10%, Juncus acutiflorus 10%, Tragopogon pratensis 10%, Phleum pratense aggr. 10%, Bistorta officinalis 10%, Lolium multiflorum 10%, Rhinanthus angustifolius 10%, Bromus racemosus 9%, Carum carvi 9%, Heracleum sphondylium 9%, Polygala vulgaris 9%, Vulpia bromoides 9%, Cerastium glomeratum 8%, Cardamine pratensis 8%, Potentilla erecta 8%, Prunella grandiflora 8%, Trifolium campestre 8%, Cyperus longus 7%, Carex leporina 7%, Rumex obtusifolius 7%, Chamaemelum nobile 7%, Centaurea debeauxii 7%, Galium verum 7%, Festuca nigrescens 7%, Alopecurus pratensis 7%, Linum catharticum 6%, Veronica arvensis 6%, Convolvulus arvensis 6%, Pilosella officinarum 6%, Bromus commutatus 6%, Vicia hirsuta 6%, Vicia cracca 5%, Aira caryophyllea 5%, Myosotis discolor 5%, Euphrasia hirtella 5%, Plantago major 5%, Saxifraga granulata 5%, Potentilla reptans 5%, Dactylorhiza maculata aggr. 5% view more...

Indicator species

Trifolium pratense 0.83, Holcus lanatus 0.81, Cynosurus cristatus 0.74, Plantago lanceolata 0.73, Anthoxanthum odoratum 0.7, Dactylis glomerata 0.64, Trifolium repens aggr. 0.55, Hypochaeris radicata 0.49, Rumex acetosa 0.48, Bromus hordeaceus aggr. 0.39, Arrhenatherum elatius 0.36, Crepis capillaris 0.35, Ranunculus acris 0.35, Trisetum flavescens 0.35, Trifolium dubium 0.35, Poa trivialis 0.33, Cerastium fontanum 0.32, Lolium perenne 0.31, Gaudinia fragilis 0.3, Bellis perennis 0.29, Lotus corniculatus 0.28, Ranunculus bulbosus 0.28, Centaurea nigra 0.28, Poa pratensis 0.26, Linum bienne 0.25, Daucus carota 0.24, Briza media 0.24, Rhinanthus minor 0.23, Taraxacum sect. Taraxacum 0.23, Achillea millefolium 0.23, Festuca rubra 0.22, Prunella vulgaris 0.21, Lathyrus pratensis 0.21, Leucanthemum vulgare 0.19, Schedonorus pratensis 0.18, Medicago lupulina 0.16, Sanguisorba minor 0.15, Schedonorus arundinaceus 0.15, Malva moschata 0.15, Trocdaris verticillatum 0.15, Veronica chamaedrys 0.14, Ranunculus repens 0.14, Vicia sativa aggr. 0.14, Geranium dissectum 0.13, Ajuga reptans 0.13, Lotus pedunculatus 0.12, Leontodon hispidus 0.12, Crepis taraxacifolia 0.11, Agrostis capillaris 0.1, Tragopogon pratensis 0.1 view more...

Phytosociology

Agrostio castellanae-Arrhenatheretum bulbosi
Malvo moschatae-Arrhenatheretum bulbosi

Relations with other habitat types

Since the existence of a core of dominant species of tall grass across all the study area prevents the statistically sound recognition of, in particular, elevational variants like those distinguished by EUNIS as R22 and R23 (the latter including a unit specific to the area: R2314 [“Northern Iberian submontane hay meadows"]), all regional hay meadows are united under a single level IV umbrella category, R211 having been chosen for the evocative allusion to the Atlantic in its name.

R221

Regional distribution

Under the oceanic climate of the northern territories, barely summer-dry if at all, these meadows may be present in zonal areas with varied aspects and inclinations, in areas potentially forested by T172, T182, T1Bx and T1E1. To the submediterranean south, however, especially when the effect is compounded by an orographic shelter from the ocean, they are mostly restricted to valley bottoms, often requiring irrigation channels which, by buffering the effect of winter frosts and summer drought, promote suitable conditions for meadow plants throughout the year. In any case, these communities are experiencing a rapid demise everywhere: especially in mountain areas, lands traditionally exploited as hay meadows are being abandoned altogether, whereas in those still managed, mechanised mowing and silage in plastic, by enabling much more frequent cuts at almost any season (overcoming the original bottlenecks brought by the necessity of abundant labour and the long, dry days of high-summer to cure the hay), are generating impoverished grasslands akin to R211, even occasionally plowed, reseeded with commercial fodder varieties and sprayed with artificial fertilizers.

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

R221 Atlantic hay meadows