Protected habitat types

These natural habitat types must be maintained or restored at favourable conservation status in accordance with Article 1 (e) of the Habitats Directive. Put simply, this means:

• the natural range of the habitats and the area they cover within that range stay stable for many years, remain free of negative human influence, or increase.
• that characteristic features of the habitats (for example sediment, salinity and currents) and their specific functions can continue to exist in their natural dynamic form.
• that the flora and fauna populations typical of the habitats are capable of being maintained on a long-term basis or even increase.

Protected areas are designated for these reasons for the Natura 2000 ecological network. Under Article 6 of the Habitats Directive, member states establish conservation and development measures for protected areas and adopt measures to prevent the habitats’ conservation status from deteriorating and the habitats themselves from being disturbed. The Habitats Directive also requires plans and projects likely to affect a site to be assessed for their implications for the site and lays down the procedure for compensatory measures to mitigate any impacts.

Reefs und Sandbanks

Sandbanks and reefs are home to specific communities of flora and fauna, are rearing and dispersion areas, and provide food and shelter. As a result, they perform key ecological functions, for example as recuperation, feeding and resting habitats for birds, marine mammals and fish. Sites where both types of habitat intermingle support exceptional levels of biodiversity.

The habitat types found in the German EEZ have been studied in six BfN research projects. These included studying the structure of the sediment and the sea floor, researching benthic communities, and formulating criteria to define the boundaries of the habitats with surrounding areas.