Heaths in the British National Vegetation Classification system
Encyclopedia
This article gives an overview of the heath
communities in the British National Vegetation Classification
system.
, in Volume 2 of British Plant Communities, first published in 1991.
In total, 22 heath communities have been identified.
The heath communities consist of six separate subgroups:
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
communities in the British National Vegetation Classification
British National Vegetation Classification
The British National Vegetation Classification or NVC is a system of classifying natural habitat types in Great Britain according to the vegetation they contain....
system.
Introduction
The heath communities of the NVC were described, along with the mire communitiesMires in the British National Vegetation Classification system
This article gives an overview of the mire communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.-Introduction:The mire communities of the NVC were described in Volume 2 of British Plant Communities, first published in 1991, along with the heath communities.In total, 38 mire...
, in Volume 2 of British Plant Communities, first published in 1991.
In total, 22 heath communities have been identified.
The heath communities consist of six separate subgroups:
- five lowland dry heath communities, all with distinct, largely non-overlapping distributions in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
(H1, H2, H6British NVC community H6NVC community H6 is one of the heath communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of five communities categorised as lowland dry heaths....
, H8 and H9) - three localised communities, with non-overlapping ranges in southern England, which are considered transitional between the above and the wetter communities classified in the NVC as mires (H3, H4British NVC community H4NVC community H4 is one of the heath communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of three communities which are considered transitional between the lowland dry heaths and the wetter communities classified in the NVC as mires.It is a relatively localised community...
and H5British NVC community H5NVC community H5 is one of the heath communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of three communities which are considered transitional between the lowland dry heaths and the wetter communities classified in the NVC as mires.It is a very localised community...
) - two maritime heath communities, found exclusively on the coasts of northern and western Britain; one (H7British NVC community H7NVC community H7 is one of the heath communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of two communities categorised as maritime heaths....
) is more widespread than the other (H11) - four submontane heaths from upland areas in northern and western Britain; two of these (H10 and H12) are widespread, whereas the other two (H16 and H21) are more localised (confined to ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and Scotland and the Lake DistrictLake DistrictThe Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, respectively) - two sub-alpine communities, considered transitional between the previous and next groupings - H18, which is widespread in northern and western Britain), and H22, which is confined to Scotland
- six montaneMontaneIn biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
heath communities with lichenLichenLichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s and mosseMosseMosse may refer to:In medicine:* Bartholomew Mosse, Irish surgeon and founder of the Rotunda Hospital* Markus Mosse, German physicianIn literature:* Hans Lachmann-Mosse, German publisher* Kate Mosse, English author and broadcaster...
s, all of which are confined either to Scotland (H13, H14, H15, H17 and H20) or to Scotland and the Lake District (H19)
List of heath communities
The following is a list of the communities that make up this category:- H1 Calluna vulgaris - Festuca ovina heathBritish NVC community H1 (Calluna vulgaris - Festuca ovina heath)NVC community H1 is one of the heath communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of five communities categorised as lowland dry heaths.It is a fairly localised community...
- H2 Calluna vulgaris - Ulex minor heathBritish NVC community H2 (Calluna vulgaris - Ulex minor heath)NVC community H2 is one of the heath communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of five communities categorised as lowland dry heaths....
- H3 Ulex minor - Agrostis curtisii heathBritish NVC community H3 (Ulex minor - Agrostis curtisii heath)NVC community H3 is one of the heath communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of three communities which are considered transitional between the lowland dry heaths and the wetter communities classified in the NVC as mires.It is a very localised community...
- H4 Ulex gallii - Agrostis curtisii heath
- H5 Erica vagans - Schoenus nigricans heath
- H6 Erica vagans - Ulex europaeus heath
- H7 Calluna vulgaris - Scilla verna heath
- H8 Calluna vulgaris - Ulex gallii heath
- H9 Calluna vulgaris - Deschampsia flexuosa heath
- H10 Calluna vulgaris - Erica cinerea heath
- H11 Calluna vulgaris - Carex arenaris heath
- H12 Calluna vulgaris - Vaccinium myrtillus heath
- H13 Calluna vulgaris - Cladonia arbuscula heath
- H14 Calluna vulgaris - Racomitrium lanuginosum heath
- H15 Calluna vulgaris - Juniperus communis ssp. nana heath
- H16 Calluna vulgaris - Arctostaphylos uva-ursi heath
- H17 Calluna vulgaris - Arctostaphylos alpinus heath
- H18 Vaccinium myrtillus - Deschampsia flexuosa heath
- H19 Vaccinium myrtillus - Cladonia arbuscula heath
- H20 Vaccinium myrtillus - Racomitrium lanuginosum heath
- H21 Calluna vulgaris - Vaccinium myrtillus - Sphagnum capillifolium heath
- H22 Vaccinium myrtillus - Rubus chamaemorus heath
Source
- Rodwell, J. S. (1988) British Plant Communities Volume 2 - Mires and heaths ISBN 0-521-62720-6 pages vii, 347 - 358