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Environmental information systems
| Major ecosystem category (level 1) | Ecosystem type for mapping and assessment (level 2) | Representation of habitats (functional dimension by EUNIS)/MSFD for marine ecosystems) | Representation of land cover (spatial dimension) | Benefits of mapping | Problems of mapping | Listed as ecosystems, major habitat types or reporting categories in | Spatial data availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrestrial | Urban | Constructed, industrial and other artificial habitats | Urban, industrial, commercial and transport areas, urban green areas, mines, dump and construction sites | Urban areas represent mainly human habitats but they usually include significant areas for synanthropic species | CLC’s coarse resolution that needs to be complemented e.g. by Urban atlas (ca. 300 cities) and HRL Imperviousness but see (23) |
EUNIS (SEBI) UNEP/CBD* MA‡ |
CLC Urban Atlas HRL Imperviousness |
| Cropland | Regularly or recently cultivated agricultural, horticultural and domestic habitats | Annual and permanent crops | Main food production areas, intensively managed ecosystems | Habitat classification (e.g. EUNIS) includes permanent crops into Heathland and scrub |
EUNIS (SEBI, Baseline) UNEP/CBD MA |
CLC | |
| Grassland | Grasslands and land dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens | Pastures and (semi-) natural grasslands | Areas dominated by grassy vegetation of two kinds – managed pastures and natural (extensively managed) grasslands | Distinction between intensively used and more natural grasslands requires additional datasets (Art. 17) |
EUNIS (SEBI, Baseline) UNEP/CBD WWF+ MA |
CLC HRL grasslands |
|
| Woodland and forest | Woodland, forest and other wooded land | Forests | Climax ecosystem type on most of the area supporting many ecosystem services | Missing information on quality and management requires additional datasets (Art. 17, HRL forest) |
EUNIS (SEBI, Baseline) UNEP/CBD WWF MA |
CLC HRL forests (EFDAC) |
|
| Heathland and shrub | Heathland, scrub and tundra (vegetation dominated by shrubs or dwarf shrubs) | Moors, heathland and sclerophyllous vegetation | Mostly secondary ecosystems with unfavourable natural conditions | Mapping the condition of these areas requires combination with Art.17 |
EUNIS (SEBI, Baseline) WWF MA |
CLC | |
| Sparserly vegetated land | Unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (naturally unvegetated areas) | Open spaces with little or no vegetation (bare rocks, glaciers and beaches, dunes and sand plains included) | Ecosystems with extreme natural conditions that might support valuable species. Includes coastal ecosystems on (beaches, dunes) affected by marine ecosystems | Becomes a conglomerate of distinctive rarely occurring ecosystems, often defined by different geographical location |
EUNIS (SEBI, Baseline) UNEP/CBD MA |
CLC | |
| Wetlands | Mires, bogs and fens | Inland wetlands (marshes and peatbogs) | Specific plant and animal communities, water regulation, peat-related processes | Separation from grasslands (temporary inundation) and forests (tree canopy), HRL wetlands |
EUNIS (SEBI, Baseline) UNEP/CBDMA |
CLC HRL wetlands |
|
| Fresh water | Rivers and lakes | Inland surface waters (freshwater ecosystems) | Water courses and bodies incl. coastal lakes (without permanent connection to the sea) | All permanent freshwater surface waters | Underestimation of water courses and small water bodies needs application of external datasets (ECRINS, (HRL Small lakes) |
EUNIS (SEBI, Baseline) WWF MA |
CLC HRL small water bodies ECRINS |
| Marine | Marine inlets and transitional waters | Pelagic habitats: Low/reduced salinity water (of lagoons) Variable salinity water (of coastal wetlands, estuaries and other transitional waters) Marine salinity water (of other inlets) Benthic habitats: Littoral rock and biogenic reef Littoral sediment Shallow sublittoral rock and biogenic reef Shallow sublittoral sediment | Coastal wetlands: Saltmarshes, salines and intertidal flats Lagoons: Highly restricted connection to open sea, reduced, often relatively stable, salinity regime Estuaries and other transitional waters: Link rivers to open sea, variable, highly dynamic salinity regime. All WFD transitional waters included Fjords/sea lochs: Glacially derived, typically elongated and deep; marine salinity regime Embayments: Non-glacial origin, typically shallow, marine salinity system Pelagic habitats in this type include the photic zone, benthic habitats can include it or not | Spatial representation of the land-sea interface, and of the relative proportion of habitats and related services. Interface limited by the WFD landward boundaries of transitional and coastal waters |
Use of relevant CLC classes would lead to mapping geographically distinct entities rather than benthic habitats EUSeaMap provides broad-scaled seabed habitat maps, which are based on predictive modelling with partial validation. But these cannot be used for all ecosystems in this class |
EUNIS (SEBI, Baseline) UNEP/CBC WWF MA WFD transitional water bodies MSFD water column predominant habitat types: Variable salinity (estuarine), Reduced salinity and Marine salinity MSFD’s seabed predominant habitats | CLC (allows mapping of lagoons, saltmarshes, salines, intertidal flats and estuaries) GIS layer of WFD lake water bodies and transitional water bodies EUSeaMap is now only available for the Baltic, North, Celtic and western Mediterranean seas. Remaining seas to be covered by new projects (over 2013-2014) Marine water column habitats are not mapped by EUSeaMap |
| Coastal | Pelagic habitats: Coastal waters Benthic habitats: Littoral rock and biogenic reef Littoral sediment Shallow sublittoral rock and biogenic reef Shallow sublittoral sediment | Coastal, shallow-depth marine systems that experience significant land-based influences. These systems undergo diurnal fluctuations in temperature, salinity and turbidity, and are subject to wave disturbance. Depth is up to 50-70 meters. Pelagic habitats in this type include the photic zone, benthic habitats can include it or not. | Spatial representation of the marine coastal zone and of the relative proportion of habitats and related services | No European common scheme exists for mapping of pelagic habitats nor for combined pelagic/benthic systems EUSeaMap broad-scale seabed habitat maps are based on predictive modelling with partial validation | WFD coastal water bodies MSFD’s water column predominant habitats with marine salinity MSFD’s seabed predominant habitats | GIS layer of WFD coastal water bodies EUSeaMap is now only available for the Baltic, North, Celtic and western Mediterranean seas. Remaining seas to be covered by new projects (over 2013-2014) Marine water column habitats are not mapped by EUSeaMap | |
| Shelf | Pelagic habitats: Shelf waters Benthic habitats: Shelf sublittoral rock and biogenic reef Shelf sublittoral sediment | Marine systems away from coastal influence, down to the shelf slope. They experience more stable temperature and salinity regimes than coastal systems, and their seabed is below wave disturbance. Depth is up to 200 meters. Pelagic habitats in this type include the photic zone, benthic habitats are beyond the photic limit (aphotic) | Spatial representation of the marine shelf zone and of the relative proportion of habitats and related services | No European common scheme exists for mapping of pelagic habitats nor for combined pelagic/benthic systems EUSeaMap broad-scale seabed habitat maps are based on predictive modelling with partial validation | MSFD’s water column predominant habitats with marine salinity MSFD’s seabed predominant habitats | EUSeaMap is now only available for the Baltic, North, Celtic and western Mediterranean seas. Remaining seas to be covered by new projects (over 2013-2014) Marine water column habitats are not mapped by EUSeaMap | |
| Open ocean | Pelagic habitats: Oceanic waters Benthic habitats: Bathyal (upper, lower) rock and biogenic reef Bathyal (upper, lower) sediment Abyssal rock and biogenic reef Abyssal sediment | Marine systems beyond the shelf slope with very stable temperature and salinity regimes, in particular in the deep seabed. Depth is beyond 200 meters. Pelagic habitats in this type are, in proportion, mostly aphotic, benthic habitats are aphotic | Spatial representation of the marine open ocean zone and of the relative proportion of habitats and related services | No European common scheme exists for mapping of pelagic habitats nor for combined pelagic/benthic systems EUSeaMap broad-scale seabed habitat
maps |
MSFD’s water column predominant habitats with marine salinity MSFD’s seabed predominant habitats | EUSeaMap is now only available for the Baltic, North, Celtic and western Mediterranean seas. Remaining seas to be covered by new projects (over 2013-2014) Marine water column habitats are not mapped by EUSeaMap |