IBEROATLANTICA

Description

Often tall heaths on leached, eroded soils, rich in particularly fire-resistant species, including Cistaceae, and associated to sileceous inland, submediterranean areas or, in the northernmost territories, to steep, south-facing slopes.

Protection

Protegida bajo el código 4030 ("Brezales secos europeos") por el Anexo I de la Directiva Hábitat de la Unión Europea.

Floristic Composition

Frequent species

Genista tridentata 93%, Erica australis 90%, Halimium alyssoides 74%, Agrostis curtisii 49%, Calluna vulgaris 47%, Erica umbellata 47%, Erica cinerea 31%, Helictochloa marginata 30%, Daboecia cantabrica 27%, Vaccinium myrtillus 25%, Luzula lactea 24%, Helictotrichon thorei 23%, Halimium umbellatum 21%, Quercus pyrenaica 18%, Arenaria montana 18%, Erica arborea 17%, Simethis mattiazzii 17%, Ulex minor aggr. 15%, Tuberaria globulariifolia 13%, Carex asturica 13%, Pteridium aquilinum 12%, Jasione montana 12%, Glandora prostrata 12%, Polygala microphylla 12%, Avenella flexuosa 11%, Neoschischkinia truncatula 11%, Lotus corniculatus 11%, Asphodelus albus 11%, Potentilla erecta 10%, Polygala vulgaris 9%, Cytisus scoparius 8%, Solidago virgaurea 8%, Erythronium dens-canis 8%, Hypochaeris radicata 7%, Cytisus oromediterraneus 7%, Festuca elegans 7%, Cistus ladanifer 6%, Cistus inflatus 6%, Agrostis castellana 6%, Galium saxatile 6%, Gentiana lutea 5%, Agrostis capillaris 5%, Lavandula pedunculata 5% view more...

Indicator species

Genista tridentata 0.91, Erica australis 0.89, Halimium alyssoides 0.7, Erica umbellata 0.41, Agrostis curtisii 0.39, Luzula lactea 0.23, Helictochloa marginata 0.2, Halimium umbellatum 0.19, Erica cinerea 0.17, Simethis mattiazzii 0.15, Helictotrichon thorei 0.15, Daboecia cantabrica 0.14, Vaccinium myrtillus 0.14, Quercus pyrenaica 0.13, Tuberaria globulariifolia 0.13, Polygala microphylla 0.11, Arenaria montana 0.11, Carex asturica 0.09, Jasione montana 0.09, Asphodelus albus 0.08, Neoschischkinia truncatula 0.08, Glandora prostrata 0.07, Erythronium dens-canis 0.07, Festuca elegans 0.05, Polygala vulgaris 0.05, Solidago virgaurea 0.05, Thymelaea broteriana 0.04, Hypochaeris radicata 0.04, Cytisus oromediterraneus 0.04, Pinus sylvestris 0.04, Asphodelus macrocarpus 0.04, Gentiana lutea 0.03, Hypericum richeri 0.03, Eryngium duriaei 0.03, Sedum brevifolium 0.03, Cistus ladanifer 0.03, Halimium ocymoides 0.02, Melampyrum pratense 0.02, Patzkea paniculata 0.02, Anemone nemorosa 0.02, Cistus inflatus 0.02, Erica scoparia 0.02, Anarrhinum bellidifolium 0.02, Rumex acetosella 0.02, Dianthus langeanus 0.02, Physospermum cornubiense 0.02, Micropyrum tenellum 0.02, Genista falcata 0.01, Thymus caespititius 0.01, Patzkea durandoi 0.01 view more...

Phytosociology

Halimio ocymoides-Ericetum umbellatae
Pterosparto cantabrici-Ericetum aragonensis
Pterosparto lasianthi-Ericetum aragonensis

Relations with other habitat types

Pyrophilous analogue of S42x in summer-drier areas. In this case, the forests of which they represent an anthropogenic dysclimax correspond mainly to T19A. Since there is a more complete equivalence between this and the original S424, a full assimilation could be considered.

S42y

Regional distribution

As pointed out under S42x, the areas where these heathlands prevail are amongst the most affected by rural abandonment in the Iberian peninsula, partly as a consequence of the inherent poverty ot their siliceous soils, aggravated by centuries of tenuous pastoral economies dependent on fire. The result are these enormous extensions of impoverished heathlands, whose spontaneous evolution towards other types of vegetation, ideally forests, becomes almost impossible as long as a) the risk of human-caused, back-to-the-start wildfires remains even in this sparsely populated areas; and b) this ligneous, dry vegetation, expanded continuously across thousands of hectares, is ignited easily by lightning strikes even in the absence of human population. Current climatic trends aggravate this situation, making this dysclimactic system even more stable.

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

S42y Submediterranean Erica heaths