Vegetation classification is the process of classifying and mapping the vegetation over an area of the earth's surface. Vegetation classification is often performed by state based agencies as part of land use, resource and environmental management. Many different methods of vegetation classification have been used. In general, there has been a shift from structural classification used by forestry for the mapping of timber resources, to floristic community mapping for biodiversity management. Whereas older forestry-based schemes considered factors such as height, species and density of the woody canopy, floristic community mapping shifts the emphasis onto ecological factors such as climate, soil type and floristic associations. Classification mapping is usually now done using geographic information systems software.
Classification schemes
Following, some important classification schemes.
Köppen (1884)
Although this scheme is in fact of a climate classification, it has a deep relationship with vegetation studies:
B. The soil is physiologically dry, i. e. contains water which is available to the plant only to a slight extent; the formations are therefore essentially composed of xerophilous species:
* Class 3. Oxylophytes.
* Class 4. Psychrophytes.
* Class 5. Halophytes.
C. The soil is physically dry, and its slight power of retaining water determines the vegetation, the climate being of secondary import; the formations are therefore likewise xerophilous:
* Class 6. Lithophytes.
* Class 7. Psammophytes.
* Class 8. Chersophytes.
D. The climate is very dry and decides the character of the vegetation; the properties of the soil are dominated by climate; the formations are also xerophilous:
Formation-class IV. Dwarf-scrub and related communities
Formation-class V. Terrestrial herbaceous communities
Formation-class VI. Deserts and other scarcely vegetated areas
Formation-class VII. Aquatic plant formations
Oliveira-Filho (2009, 2015)
A vegetation classification with six main criteria :
A. Basic vegetation physiognomies
* 1. Forest physiognomies
* 2. Shrubland physiognomies
* 3. Savanna physiognomies
* 4. Grassland physiognomies
* 5. Man-made physiognomies
B. Climatic regime
* Maritime
* Semi-arid
* Seasonal
* Rain
* Cloud
C. Leaf flush regime
* Evergreen
* Semideciduous
* Deciduous
* Alternate
* Ephemeral
D. Thermal realm
* Tropical
* Subtropical, etc.
E. Elevation range
* Coastal
* Lower plains
* Upper plains
* Lower highlands
* Upper highlands
* Montane
F. Substrate
* Shallow soils
* Deep soils
* Soily
* Sandy
* Gravelly
* Rocky
* Dystrophic
* Mesotrophic
* Eutrophic
* Ridge
* Slope
* Thalweg
* Riverine
* Floodplain
* Marshy
* Swampy
Other
Other important schemes: Grisebach, Tansley and Chipp, Rübel, Burtt Davy, Beard, André Aubréville, Trochain, Dansereau, Küchler. In the sixties, A. W. Kuchler coordinated an extensive review of vegetation maps from all the continents, compiling the terminology used for the types of vegetation.
