Inland surface waters are non-coastal above-ground open fresh or brackish waterbodies (e.g. rivers, streams, lakes and pools, springs), including their littoral zones. Includes constructed inland freshwater, brackish or saline waterbodies (such as canals, ponds, etc) which support a semi-natural community of both plants and animals; seasonal waterbodies which may dry out for part of the year (temporary or intermittent rivers and lakes and their littoral zones). Freshwater littoral zones include those parts of banks or shores that are sufficiently frequently inundated to prevent the formation of closed terrestrial vegetation. Excludes permanent snow and ice. Note that habitats that intimately combine waterlogged mires and vegetation rafts with pools of open water are considered as complexes.
