Woodland and Scrub Communities in The British National Vegetation Classification System - Introduction

Introduction

The woodland and scrub communities of the NVC were described in Volume 1 of British Plant Communities, first published in 1991.

In total, 25 woodland/scrub communities have been identified, consisting of 19 woodland communities, four communities classed as scrub and 2 as underscrub.

The woodland communities consist of:

  • Six mixed deciduous or oak/birch woodland communities, which between them are found throughout Britain
  • Three Beech woodland communities, found mainly in southern England
  • A Yew woodland community, almost completely restricted to southeast England (community W13)
  • A Scots Pine woodland community, restricted to Scotland
  • A Juniper woodland community (community W19)
  • Seven wet woodland communities, characterised by the presence of alder, birch and willows (communities W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6 and W7).
  • Communities of arctic-alpine willows

The scrub communities consist of:

  • Communities consisting of shrubs such as hawthorn, blackthorn and elder
  • Gorse and broom scrub

The underscrub communities consist of bramble and bracken underscrub.

A further scrub community, SD18, dominated by Sea Buckthorn, is classified among the sand-dune communities.

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