Water-dependent area

Set of alluvial wetlands permanently or temporarily related with the current environment by either surface or underground connections: islands, alluvial bars, ox-bows, flood meadows, alluvial and riverine forests, springs and underground rivers. These spaces are important transition zones between the terrestrial and aquatic environments. They offer a wide variety of habitats, in which fauna and flora communities (insects, fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals) are distributed according to the level of land flooding. Water dependent areas have a key role in the life cycle of species and especially in fish spawning. Depending on the concerned species and their nature, they are breeding grounds, migration resting or feeding areas. Amphibians and reptiles are represented as much as birds. The marsh frog, the European or South tree frog, the ringneck snake gather with the moorhen, the little grebe or dabchick, the kingfisher and sometimes the grey heron.