AA.B Baltic photic hard clay
Author
HELCOM RED LIST Biotope Expert Team
Textual description
Baltic bottoms in the photic zone with at least 90 % coverage of hard clay.
Physical environment
Salinity range: All; Exposure range: All; Depth range: Photic zone
Characteristic species
Barnea candida, Mytilus spp.
Mapping advise (habitat delineation, identification, similar types)
Photic zone bottoms of hard clay
Quality descriptors
Loose sediment covering the seabed will decrease the quality.
Geographic range
Whole Baltic Sea
Anthropogenic threats
Silting caused by eutrophication, dredging spoil deposition etc.
Correspondence with other classification systems
HELCOM 1998:
2.3 Hard clay bottoms
2.3.2 Sublittoral photic zone