Technical Report 125

APPENDIX B: EUNIS HABITAT CODE DESCRIPTIONS

Descriptions of EUNIS habitat codes used in Table 2.2. A complete list of EUNIS habitat codes and descriptions are available via the European Environment Agency web site (http://eunis.eea.europa.eu/
habitats-code-browser.jsp)

Habitat code	Habitat name	Description
A1	Littoral rock and other hard substrata	Littoral rock includes habitats of bedrock, boulders and cobbles which occur in the intertidal zone (the area of the shore between high and low tides) and the splash zone. The upper limit is marked by the top of the lichen zone and the lower limit by the top of the laminarian kelp zone. Exposed shores tend to support faunal-dominated communities of barnacles and mussels and some robust seaweeds. Sheltered shores are most notable for their dense cover of fucoid seaweeds, with distinctive zones occurring down the shore. In between these extremes of wave exposure, on moderately exposed shores, mosaics of seaweeds and barnacles are more typical.
A2	Littoral sediment	Littoral sediment includes habitats of shingle (mobile cobbles and pebbles), gravel, sand and mud or any combination of these which occur in the intertidal zone. Some intertidal sediments are dominated by angiosperms, e.g. eelgrass beds on the mid and upper shore of muddy sand flats, or saltmarshes and saline reedbeds (A2.5) which develop on the extreme upper shore of sheltered fine sediment flats. Littoral sediments are found across the entire intertidal zone, including the strandline. Sediment biotopes can extend further landwards (dune systems, marshes) and further seawards (sublittoral sediments). Sediment shores are generally found along relatively more sheltered stretches of coast compared to rocky shores. Muddy shores or muddy sand shores occur mainly in very sheltered inlets and along estuaries, where wave exposure is low enough to allow fine sediments to settle. Sandy shores and coarser sediment (gravel, pebbles, cobbles) shores are found in areas subject to higher wave exposures.
A3	Infralittoral rock and other hard substrata	Infralittoral rock includes habitats of bedrock, boulders and cobbles which occur in the shallow subtidal zone and typically support seaweed communities. The upper limit is marked by the top of the kelp zone whilst the lower limit is marked by the lower limit of kelp growth or the lower limit of dense seaweed growth. Infralittoral rock typically has an upper zone of dense kelp (forest) and a lower zone of sparse kelp (park), both with an understorey of erect seaweeds. On the extreme lower shore and in the very shallow subtidal (sublittoral fringe) there is usually a narrow band of dabberlocks [Alaria esculenta] (exposed coasts) or kelps. Areas of mixed ground, lacking stable rock, may lack kelps but support seaweed communities. In estuaries and other turbid-water areas the shallow subtidal may be dominated by animal communities, with only poorly developed seaweed communities.
A4	Circalittoral rock and other hard substrata	Circalittoral rock is characterised by animal dominated communities. The circalittoral zone can itself be split into two sub-zones; upper circalittoral (foliose red algae present but not dominant) and lower circalittoral (foliose red algae absent). The depth at which the circalittoral zone begins is directly dependent on the intensity of light reaching the seabed; in highly turbid conditions, the circalittoral zone may begin just below water level at mean low water springs (MLWS). The character of the fauna varies enormously and is affected mainly by wave action, tidal stream strength, salinity, turbidity, the degree of scouring and rock topography. It is typical for the community not to be dominated by single species, as is common in shore and infralittoral habitats, but rather comprise a mosaic of species. This, coupled with the range of influencing factors, makes circalittoral rock a difficult area to satisfactorily classify; particular care should therefore be taken in matching species and habitat data to the classification.
A5	Sublittoral sediment	Sediment habitats in the sublittoral near shore zone (i.e. covering the infralittoral and circalittoral zones), typically extending from the extreme lower shore down to the edge of the bathyal zone (200 m). Sediment ranges from boulders and cobbles, through pebbles and shingle, coarse sands, sands, fine sands, muds, and mixed sediments. Those communities found in or on sediment are described within this broad habitat type.
A6	Deep-sea bed	The sea bed beyond the continental shelf break. The shelf break occurs at variable depth, but is generally over 200 m. The upper limit of the deep-sea zone is marked by the edge of the shelf. Includes areas of the Mediterranean Sea which are deeper than 200 m but not of the Baltic Sea which is a shelf sea.
A7	Pelagic water column	The water column of shallow or deep sea, or enclosed coastal waters.
B	Coastal habitats	Coastal habitats are those above spring high tide limit (or above mean water level in non-tidal waters) occupying coastal features and characterised by their proximity to the sea, including coastal dunes and wooded coastal dunes, beaches and cliffs. Includes free-draining supralittoral habitats adjacent to marine habitats which are normally only affected by spray or splash, strandlines characterised by terrestrial invertebrates and moist and wet coastal dune slacks and dune-slack pools. Excludes supralittoral rock pools and habitats adjacent to the sea which are not characterised by salt spray, wave or sea-ice erosion.
C	Inland surface waters	Inland surface waters are non-coastal above-ground open fresh or brackish waterbodies (e.g. lakes and pools (C1), rivers, streams and springs (C2)), including their littoral zones. Includes constructed inland freshwater, brackish or saline waterbodies (such as canals, ponds, etc.) which support a semi-natural community of both plants and animals; seasonal waterbodies which may dry out for part of the year (temporary or intermittent rivers and lakes and their littoral zones). Freshwater littoral zones (C3) include those parts of banks or shores that are sufficiently frequently inundated to prevent the formation of closed terrestrial vegetation. Excludes permanent snow and ice.
D	Mires, bogs and fens	Wetlands, with the water table at or above ground level for at least half of the year, dominated by herbaceous or ericoid vegetation. Includes inland saltmarshes and waterlogged habitats where the groundwater is frozen. Excludes the water body and rock structure of springs (C2) and waterlogged habitats dominated by trees or large shrubs (F, G). Note that habitats that intimately combine waterlogged mires and vegetation rafts with pools of open water are considered as complexes.
E	Grasslands and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens	Non-coastal land which is dry or only seasonally wet (with the water table at or above ground level for less than half of the year) with greater than 30% vegetation cover. The vegetation is dominated by grasses and other non-woody plants, including mosses, macrolichens, ferns, sedges and herbs. Includes semiarid steppes, successional weedy vegetation and managed grasslands such as recreation fields and lawns. Excludes regularly tilled habitats (I) dominated by cultivated herbaceous vegetation such as arable fields.
F	Heathland, scrub and tundra	Non-coastal land which is dry or only seasonally inundated (with the water table at or above ground level for less than half of the year) with greater than 30% vegetation cover. Tundra is characterised by the presence of permafrost. Heathland and scrub are defined as vegetation dominated by shrubs or dwarf shrubs of species that typically do not exceed 5 m maximum height. Includes shrub orchards, vineyards, hedges (which may have occasional tall trees). Also includes stands of climatically-limited dwarf trees < 3 m high, such as occur in extreme alpine conditions. Includes Salix and Frangula carrs but excludes coppice and Alnus and Populus swamp woodland (G).
G	Woodland, forest and other wooded land	Woodland and recently cleared or burnt land where the dominant vegetation is, or was until very recently, trees with a canopy cover of at least 10%. Trees are defined as woody plants, typically single-stemmed, that can reach a height of 5 m at maturity unless stunted by poor climate or soil. Includes lines of trees, coppices, regularly tilled tree nurseries, tree-crop plantations and fruit and nut tree orchards. Includes Alnus and Populus swamp woodland and riverine Salix woodland. Excludes Corylus avellana scrub and Salix and Frangula carrs. Excludes stands of climatically-limited dwarf trees < 3m high, such as occur at the Arctic or alpine tree limit. Excludes parkland with canopy less than 10%, which are listed under sparsely wooded grasslands (E).
H	Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats	Non-coastal habitats with less than 30% vegetation cover (other than in crevices of rocks, screes or cliffs) which are dry or only seasonally wet (with the water table at or above ground level for less than half of the year). Subterranean non-marine caves and passages including underground waters and disused underground mines. Habitats characterised by the presence of permanent snow and surface ice other than marine ice bodies.
I	Regularly or recently cultivated agricultural, horticultural and domestic habitats	Habitats maintained solely by frequent tilling or arising from recent abandonment of previously tilled ground such as arable land (I1) and gardens (I2). Includes tilled ground subject to inundation. Excludes lawns and sports fields (E), shrub orchards (F), tree nurseries and tree-crop plantations (G).
J	Constructed, industrial and other artificial habitats	Primarily human settlements, buildings, industrial developments, the transport network, waste dump sites. Includes highly artificial saline and non-saline waters with wholly constructed beds or heavily contaminated water (such as industrial lagoons and saltworks) which are virtually devoid of plant and animal life. Excludes disused underground mines (H1.7).
X01	Estuaries	Downstream part of a river valley, subject to the tide and extending from the limit of brackish waters. River estuaries are coastal inlets where there is generally a substantial freshwater influence. The mixing of freshwater and sea water and the reduced current flows in the shelter of the estuary lead to deposition of fine sediments, often forming extensive intertidal sand and mud flats. Where the tidal currents are faster than flood tides, most sediments deposit to form a delta at the mouth of the estuary. Baltic river mouths, considered as an estuary subtype, have brackish water and no tide, with helophytic wetland vegetation and luxurious aquatic vegetation in shallow water areas. Littoral and sublittoral habitat types typical of estuaries are included in A2 and A5, although many other habitat types including tidal rivers may occur in estuaries.
X02	Saline coastal lagoons	Lagoons are expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity and water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle, or, less frequently, by rocks. Salinity may vary from brackish water to hypersalinity depending on rainfall, evaporation and through the addition of fresh seawater from storms, temporary flooding of the sea in winter or tidal exchange. With or without vegetation of seagrasses or charophytes. Habitat types typical of lagoons are included in A5, although many other habitat types may also occur in lagoons.
X03	Brackish coastal lagoons	Flads and gloes, considered a Baltic variety of lagoons, are small, usually shallow, more or less delimited water bodies still connected to the sea or cut off from the sea very recently by land upheaval. Characterised by well-developed reedbeds and luxuriant submerged vegetation and having several morphological and botanical development stages in the process whereby sea becomes land. Mediterranean lagoons may host the Ruppietum community with halophytic vegetation, while at sites with a fresh water supply, plant communities of Juncetum and Phragmitetum can develop.