The following photos are examples of habitats defined using National Vegetation Classification (NVC). As examples they cannot be used as a substitute for the official guides to classify vegetation elsewhere. I hope however they are useful illustrations of the the vegetation that can be found in some NVC comunities.
I highly recommend that anyone interested in pursuing this topic consults the following books:
British Plant Communities (Volumes 1-5)
Plants and Habitats
Abbreviations
CG = Calcarious grassland vegetation (typically found on alkaline soils)
H = Heath vegetation
M = Mire vegetation
MG = Mesotrophic grassland vegetation (typically found on PH neutral soils)
U = Upland vegetation (typically found on acidic soils and dominated by grasses or sedges)
S = Swamp vegetation (emergent from standing water)
Click the photos to enlarge them. Many have notes on to help with their interpretation.
Calcareous grasslands
CG11 Sheep’s fescue, Common bent & Wild thyme with Alpine lady’s mantle
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CG10 Fescue (Sheep’s or Red) and wild thyme |
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Heaths
H10 Heather with Bell heather |
H12 Heather with Bilberry |
H13 Heather with Lichen |
H18 Bilberry with Wavy hair grass |
H21a Heather & Bilberry with Small-red sphagnum |
H22 Bilberry & Small-red sphagnum often with Cloudberry |
Mires
Mesotrophic grassland
MG1 False oat-grass dominated grassland
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MG3 Northern hay-meadow: mixed grasses with wood cranesbill
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MG5 Crested dog’s tail grass and common knapweed
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MG6 Rye grass and crested dog’s tail grass with herbs such as creeping buttercup
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Swamps
S9 Bottle sedge swamp
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S10 Horsetail swamp
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S12 Bulrush swamp
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Uplands (Grass and sedge dominated vegetation)
U2 Wavy hair grass dominated grassland |
U4c Mixed grasses such as fescues and sweet vernal grass with heath bedstraw, herbs and sedges. |
U4e Viviparous fescue & Heath bedstraw with Alpine lady’s mantle
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U5a Matt grass & Heath bedstraw
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U6a Heath rush & Viviparous fescue
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U7 Matt grass & Stiff sedge
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U8 Stiff sedge & Alpine haircap moss
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U10 Stiff sedge & Wooly fringe moss
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U8/U10
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U12 Dwarf willow & Wooly fringe moss with Liverworts
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