Article 17 web tool

Occurrence: Present regularly
- Reported additional information: N/A
- Range: A complete coastal mapping of the habitat type and assessment inside and outside the Natura 2000 sites has been implemented, through the project Department of Fisheries and Marine Research-DFMR (2022). “Mapping and evaluation of Posidonia Meadows and other important marine habitats under the European Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), in the coastal waters of Cyprus”. Completion report of Tender no. 19/2018, conducted by Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab, University of Patras, Hellenic Agricultural Organisation (ELGO) - DIMITRA, University of the Aegean.
In the previous reporting period, the available data at that time and the use of 100 x 100 m habitat grids, resulted in an overestimation of habitat range at 281 km2. For the current reporting period, the range is calculated using the exact mapped polygons and not habitat grids, resulting in smaller range area (125 Km2). Mapping of the habitat for the 0 – 5 m depth zone is not yet finalized, as ground truthing is still pending and therefore small deviations of the calculated area are expected. This approach, i.e. the habitat range to be equal to the current distribution, has been used during this reporting, because the current conditions of sedimentation (different sediments), hydromorphology, depth limitations and lower visibility in areas where the habitat is not presently found, suggest that Posidonia is not expected to expand beyond its current distribution. Moreover, the occurrence of other habitats is another restricting factor for Posidonia to expand outside it’s current distribution. Since the range of this habitat is rather constant over time and the current value is considered to be sufficient for the habitat’s long term conservation, it is concluded that it is approximately equal to the FRR.
- Coverage: The area estimated after mapping the entire coastline represents the most accurate updated value of the current area of this habitat type in waters of the Republic of Cyprus. It is slightly lower than the previous estimate (130 km2 in previous reporting), but the difference is due to more accurate data and methods (more sophisticated instruments and improved ground-truthing methods).
It is noted that the mapping of the habitat for the 0 – 5 m depth zone is not yet finalized as ground truthing is still pending and therefore small deviations of the calculated area is expected.
Since the value of this parameter has not changed significantly the last 20 years and it is considered to be sufficient for the habitat’s long term conservation, it is concluded that it is approximately equal to the FRV.
- HabCondition: N/A
- Future: N/A
- Conclusion: N/A
- Justification threshold: N/A
- Other: N/A

Occurrence: Present regularly
- Reported additional information: N/A
- Range: The reference range for habitat type 1120 has been established primarily through improved and updated knowledge derived from recent field surveys. This dataset has allowed for a broad identification of most known occurrences at the national level, supporting a reliable estimation of the habitat’s current range. Although localized declines in habitat condition have been observed, the overall extent of habitat 1120 is not considered to have undergone significant change since the adoption of the Habitats Directive. The estimation of Favourable Reference Range (FRR) is primarily based on extrapolation from the available data, using a combination of model-based assessments and expert judgement. Therefore, the FRR is considered to be equal to the current range, which is assumed to closely correspond to the habitat’s range at the time of the Directive’s adoption.
- Coverage: The current area of habitat type 1120 is estimated between 2.300 and 2.600 km², based on recent national-scale surveys and compiled datasets. Despite localized degradation, there is no evidence of a substantial decline in total habitat area since the adoption of the Habitats Directive. Given the improved data availability and the relative stability of the habitat’s distribution, the Favourable Reference Area (FRA) is assumed to closely reflect the habitat’s extent at the time of the Directive’s adoption. The FRA has been set using the predefined range class "less than 2% smaller than the FRA", applied to the minimum current area estimate (2.300 km²), resulting in an FRA of approximately 2.347 km². This approach reflects both data limitations and expert judgment, and is consistent with the principles outlined in the reporting guidelines.
- HabCondition: Most of the data on habitat type 1120 status across Greece originate from HCMR’s monitoring activities under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive and Article 8 of the Water Framework Directive. However, no condition data were available for most of the habitat’s extent. Consequently, the condition assessment for these areas was based on extrapolation from strategically selected surveyed regions coupled with expert judgment. The list of typical species, while not exhaustive, has been expanded to encompass more characteristic and key species of this habitat, including engineering species, bioindicators, and species of other conservation interest. The updated typical species list is uploaded under habitat type 2240.
- Future: N/A
- Conclusion: N/A
- Justification threshold: N/A
- Other: N/A

Occurrence: Present regularly
- Reported additional information: N/A
- Range: N/A
- Coverage: N/A
- HabCondition: N/A
- Future: N/A
- Conclusion: N/A
- Justification threshold: N/A
- Other: N/A

Occurrence: Present regularly
- Reported additional information: N/A
- Range: N/A
- Coverage: N/A
- HabCondition: L'épizootie qui a frappé Pinna nobilis, à partir du mois de septembre 2017 (Catanese et al. 2018), s'est traduit par un effondrement des populations en particulier en Corse dans un premier temps, et ensuite en PACA (Automne 2018) et en Occitanie. Cette maladie, due à un pathogène, ne peut être considérée comme représentative d'une dégradation des conditions de milieu, aussi l'état de conservation suite à l'épizootie de cette espèce typique ne peut être indicatrice de l'état de conservation de l'HIC 1120.
- Future: Le constat réalisé au cours de cette évaluation met en évidence des évolutions à la fois positives et négatives des surfaces d'herbier ainsi que de leurs structure et fonctions. Globalement, des mesures de gestions plus ou moins récentes permettent pour certaines, dès à présent, de favoriser une recolonisation naturelle de l'herbier (assainissement de l'eau; Bockel et al., 2024). D'autres mesures devraient porter leurs fruits dans les années à venir (gestion de l'ancrage, mise en place de ZMEL et de ZIM, etc.).

Surface (Perspectives futures) : Cependant, il est certain à ce stade que le CC et l'augmentation de la hauteur d'eau impacte la position des limites inférieures (et donc les surfaces d'herbiers) et plus particulièrement dans les secteurs à faibles pentes, où une augmentation de quelques centimètres de la hauteur d'eau peut se traduire par un recul de plusieurs dizaines de centimètres en linéaire de limite. Ce recul lié à la hauteur d'eau est bien observé sur plusieurs secteurs de Corse et le suivi du RSP (en cours cette année) devrait permettre d'appréhender l'ampleur du phénomène à l'échelle du littoral dans son ensemble. Ce paramètrre pourrait donc se traduire par une dégradation des surfaces à l'horizon 2024-2036 s'il s'avère assez général pour toutes les régions concernée. Pour l'acidification les données disponibles (observations dans les zones éruptives) ne semblent pas impacter des surfaces d'herbier. Pour les températures moyennes le diagnostic est loin d'être établi. Enfin pour les évènements extrêmes, leur augmentation est de nature à provoquer des diminutions des surfaces d'herbiers superficiels. Le bilan est contrasté et nous avons considéré (peut-être à tort) que la résultante devrait être relativement stable mais avec niveau d'incertitude élevé à l'horizon 2036.

Structure et fonctions (Perspectives futures) : Au niveau hauteur d'eau, il y aura évidemment des conséquences en termes de structure et de fonctions. De même les travaux relatifs à l'acidification montrent des modifications du fontionnement de l'écosystème avec des modifications au niveau des espèces inféodées à l'herbier (réduction et simplification). Les données relatives aux hausses de températures ne se traduisent pas encore par des impacts avérés au niveau structurel ou fonctionnel (seuils de tolérance de l'espèce plus élevé qu'initialement envisagé). Enfin pour les évènements extrêmes, pas d'éléments documentés pour prédire un impact. Le bilan semble donc plus négatif pour la Structure et les fonctions de l'habitat.
- Conclusion: N/A
- Justification threshold: N/A
- Other: N/A

Occurrence: Present regularly
- Reported additional information: N/A
- Range: N/A
- Coverage: N/A
- HabCondition: Species being considered for addition as typical:Centrolabrus melanocercus
- Future: N/A
- Conclusion: N/A
- Justification threshold: N/A
- Other: N/A

Occurrence: Present regularly
- Reported additional information: N/A
- Range: N/A
- Coverage: The surface area covered by the habitat was taken by this study: Telesca, L.; Belluscio, A.; Criscoli, A.; Ardizzone, G.; Apostolaki, E.T.; Fraschetti, S.; Cristina, M.; Knittweis, L.; Martin, C.S.; Pergent, G.; et al. Seagrass meadows (Posidonia oceanica) distribution and trajectories of change. Sci. Rep. 2015, 5, 12505.
- HabCondition: Habitat values in good, bad and unknown conditions were obtained by starting with an average percentage value (70 %, 20 % and 10 % respectively) (consistently with the assessments in the MSFD Report for 2024) and calculating a range of variation (60-80 %, 15-25 % and 5-15 % respectively). The final values are approximate.
- Future: N/A
- Conclusion: The overall conservation status has been assessed as U1. The observed habitat decline is attributed to the evaluation of the “structures and functions” parameter. According to the reporting guidelines, when between 75% and 90% of the habitat is in good condition, the status of structures and functions is considered unfavourable-inadequate. Other parameters, such as area and range, have not shown any changes compared to the previous report.
- Justification threshold: N/A
- Other: N/A

Occurrence: Present regularly
- Reported additional information: N/A
- Range: N/A
- Coverage: The surface area provided under Section 5.2 refers to the actual area of the habitat rather than the number of 1x1 km grid cells in which the presence of the habitat type has been recorded.
- HabCondition: N/A
- Future: N/A
- Conclusion: N/A
- Justification threshold: N/A
- Other: N/A

Occurrence: Present regularly
- Reported additional information: N/A
- Range: N/A
- Coverage: N/A
- HabCondition: N/A
- Future: N/A
- Conclusion: N/A
- Justification threshold: N/A
- Other: N/A