Monitoring of natural habitats

The presented publication is the collection of selected texts from the series of methodological guides entitled Monitoring of Natural Habitats, published in Polish in the framework of the Library of Environmental Monitoring.

Part I of Monitoring of Natural Habitats, covering the monitoring methodologies of 20 types of natural habitats, was published in 2010. Parts II and III, based on the same methodological principles, concerning 40 more types of natural habitats, were published in 2012. The fourth part of the series describes subsequent types of the natural habitats (16) listed in the Annex I of the Habitats Directive, as well as two natural habitats not included in this Annex, i.e. alder swamps (Carici elongatae-Alnetum) and euthrophic wet meadows (Calthion).

This publication is the revised Introduction presented in Part II and Part III and contains, among others, information on the organization and method of monitoring of natural habitats and the method of assessing the conservation status both at the level of the monitoring locations and the Natura 2000 sites.

The publication also presents the recommended methodology of monitoring for 5 types of natural habitats from Annex I of the Habitats Directive. These are habitats: 3110 Lobelia lakes (Littorelletalia uniflorae), 6210 Xerothermic grasslands (Festuco-Brometea), 6520 Mountain Yellow Trisetum and Bent-grass Hay Meadows (Polygono-Trisetion and Arrhenatherion), 7230 Alkaline fens (Mountain and lowland alkaline fens of spring fen, sedge fen, and sedge-moss fen characteristics), 9180 Sycamore and maple-lime forests of slopes, screes and ravines (Tilio platyphyllis-Acerion pseudoplatani).