Aims: To identify groups of species with similar geographic ranges in the non-endemic flora of the Socotra Archipelago, place them within a global biogeographic context, and examine how these chorotypes are reflected in Socotran vegetation types. Study area: The Socotra Archipelago (Yemen) and its surroundings, analysed against a 1° × 1° global grid to provide global context and...
Aims: We illustrate the application of Total Differential Value (TDV) optimization – a vegetation classification technique – and introduce methodological innovations for identifying syntaxa at different ranks and their diagnostic species. This approach produced a new syntaxonomic synthesis for the coastal cliff vegetation of the Cabo Verde archipelago. Study area: Cabo Verde...
This article presents the results of regional documentary research concerning two publications by Josias Braun-Blanquet and Aimé Luquet from 1926. Each contains numerous names of associations and alliances that were previously considered homonyms of equal age in the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature (Art. 33). We show that Braun-Blanquet’s publication predates...
Aims: Despite the syntaxonomic overview of European vegetation, EuroVegChecklist (EVC), there are still considerable gaps in our knowledge regarding the occurrence, composition and distribution of plant communities in parts of Europe, such as the eastern Mediterranean region. This is mainly due to the lack of comprehensive local vegetation surveys. In order to progressively fill...
Aims: In Southern Europe, grassland phytosociologists typically do not record non-vascular plant taxa and focus either on annual or perennial vascular plants even when both groups co-occur spatially. By contrast, researchers from temperate and northern Europe typically aim to record the entire community. We thus asked how such a comprehensive sampling approach would affect...
This editorial of Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS) focusses on how to prepare good synoptic tables. While synoptic tables are a core element for the standardised documentation of classification schemes, we regularly find that authors are challenged with preparing them in a concise and informative manner. Thus, we explain the key aspects of synoptic tables and how we...
The ongoing syntaxonomic revision of the class Koelerio-Corynephoretea in their entire range led to the need for nomenclatural decisions to ensure nomenclatural stability and clarity. Specifically, based on Article 52 ICPN, we propose the conservation of the widely used name Diantho deltoidis-Armerietum elongatae against the older names Armerio elongatae-Rumicetum tenuifolii and...
Aims: This study presents a novel characterization of agrestal plant communities associated with traditional, less intensively managed Mediterranean agro-ecosystems, focusing on the influence of seasonal phases, soil-, and land-use conditions, and the presence of obligate arable plant species. Study area: The island of Lemnos, North Aegean. Methods: The vegetation was recorded in...
We report the decisions of the GPN assembly in 2025 regarding previous recommendations of the Committee for Change and Conservation of Names (CCCN) and we discuss three Requests for a binding decision and four nomenclatural Proposals. Recommendations on acceptance or rejection of these Proposals are provided. Taxonomic reference: Euro+Med PlantBase (https://europlusmed.org...
Questions: Our objectives were to classify and map coastal vegetation types on a sea island that is undergoing rapid change from storm surge intensification and sea-level rise (SLR). Study area: The Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (MCRDPI) is a sea island in South Carolina, USA, dominated by tidal salt marshes with large, inland forested areas and developed areas...
In the course of a comprehensive revision of the syntaxonomy and nomenclature of the class Phragmito-Magnocaricetea Klika in Klika et Novák 1941, it appeared necessary to resolve some nomenclatural issues in accordance with the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature. In this article, we present five proposals and three requests for binding decisions. We also...
Aims: To revise the syntaxonomy of epiphytic lichen communities on Fagus sylvatica from old-growth beech forests in the Carpathians and adjacent uplands, in particular (1) to identify the main syntaxonomic units and reveal their ecologіcal, structural, and compositional peculiarities; (2) to assign the associations to higher-rank syntaxa; (3) to define the position of the...
Azonal communities of ravine forests are often confined to pristine sites, and represent habitats with species-rich biota. Despite their significance for conservation biology, little attention has been paid to this vegetation in the Caucasus, one of the global biodiversity hotspots. Aims: (a) to describe the variability, ecology, and distribution patterns of ravine forests at...
The GBNVPD (GIVD-code EU-GB-007) is the new centralised repository for the collection and storage of standardised vegetation plot data in Great Britain and the Crown Dependencies. The initial version of the GBNVPD (v1.0) described in this long database report comprises data from 63 individual sources and contains 277,070 samples from 200,733 plots, with a total of 4,463,300...
The LAURA database is a resurvey dataset documenting long-term changes in forest vegetation across southwestern Poland. It currently includes 842 phytosociological relevés from 409 plots across 20 sites. The dataset covers a wide range of forest types, from lowland riparian forests up to subalpine woods. The database primarily relies on archival data collected between 1955 and...
Question: We asked whether ordinal cover scales cause biases in biodiversity indices derived from vegetation plots and, if so, whether a different back-translation of ordinal categories could improve the situation. Methods: We took three empirical vegetation-plot datasets from different regions and habitat types with species cover estimated in percent. We applied three ordinal...
Aims: Temperate hardwood riparian forests constitute an endangered habitat occurring mostly on the floodplains of major European rivers, and included in habitat T13 of the European Nature Information System (EUNIS). In this study we aim to 1) confirm their presence in small rivers of northern Spain, 2) revise their classification at association level, and discuss it at alliance...
Question: Effective environmental management depends on accurate and efficient assessments of ecological conditions. This study introduces a method that combines remote sensing with a Rapid Assessment Method (RAM) to evaluate the environmental status of land units at the ranch scale. We ask whether this integrated approach can generate spatially explicit information to support...
This editorial introduces the Special Collection “Grasslands of Asia” in Vegetation Classification and Survey, highlighting the urgent need for systematic vegetation classification across Asia’s diverse grassland ecosystems. Despite their vast ecological, climatic, and cultural significance, Asian grasslands remain underrepresented in global vegetation studies. This gap results...
I present the Total Differential Value (TDV), an index designed for vegetation analysis based on the operational concept of differential species, as classically illustrated by Heinz Ellenberg and Dieter Mueller-Dombois. Given a phytosociological table and a grouping of its relevés, TDV is obtained by averaging the Differential Value (DiffVal) for each species in the table...
KELVEG – Roadside Vegetation of Lithuania (GIVD EU-LT-002) is a database that documents the diversity of roadside vegetation, tracks and monitors changes of non-native species’ impact on the roadsides, and adjacent habitats. The initiative was started in spring 2023. As of March 2025, 628 vegetation plots from randomly selected sites across the country have been included in the...
Aims: To test the predictive power of mean ecological indicator values (EIVs) based on different EIV systems and weighting approaches. Study area: Preda in Grisons, Switzerland. Methods: We used three regional datasets of vegetation plots accompanied with measured soil pH values or mean annual near soil air temperature. We calculated mean EIVs for each plot with four EIV systems...
An approach is proposed for a general multiscale classification of terrestrial vegetation applicable to the whole world; only the outline and principles are presented. Further development of the system should take place through future national and regional surveys. As in other proposals, there are several levels in this system, of which the upper ones are broad and cover large...
This editorial opens the sixth volume of Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS), a gold open access journal of the International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS). On occasion of the fifth anniversary of the start of the journal, we provide an analysis of the 119 articles published from 2020 to 2024, focusing on their content, geographic scope, article category and...
Aims: (a) To revise the previous classification systems for the Alnetea glutinosae vegetation in Ukraine using a representative dataset; (b) to define the vegetation types at the association level and outline their geographical distribution and species composition; (c) to describe the relationships between the defined associations and the main environmental factors. Study area...