This habitat type includes sections of watercourses of the planar to montane zones characterized by the presence of floating or submerse vegetation of the syntaxa given above. Apart from natural watercourses such as streams and rivers this includes backwaters with water throughflow as well as near-natural drains which permanently carry running water.

The mostly small areas of submerse vegetation should not be recorded separately with their exact location. Instead, entire sections hosting submerse vegetation should be separated out from sections that are mostly free from vegetation. For the purposes of notifying habitats for Natura 2000 not just the actual watercourse but also its banks with their reedbeds, tall herbaceous perennial vegetation etc. should be included.

Stands of riparian woody vegetation may be considered under 'Alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae)' alongside watercourses of the planar to subalpine zones (91E0) or 'Riparian mixed forests of Quercus robur, Ulmus laevis and Ulmus minor, Fraxinus excelsior or Fraxinus angustifolia, along the great rivers (Ulmenion minoris)' (91F0). Waterfalls in limestone regions may host vegetation of the Cratoneurion alliance habitat type and then correspond to type 7220. Riparian gravel and mud banks, provided they host the relevant vegetation, should be assigned separately as (3220, 3230, 3240, 3270).