Aquatic communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system

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This article gives an overview of the aquatic communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.

[edit] Introduction

The aquatic communities of the NVC were described in Volume 4 of British Plant Communities, first published in 1995, along with the swamps and tall-herb fens.

In total, 24 aquatic communities have been identified.

The aquatic communities fall into the following six groups:

• four communities of the water surface and sub-surface, in which duckweeds and/or Frogbit are the constant species; these communities (A1, A2, A3 and A4) are found in moderately-rich to eutrophic standing waters

• eight free-floating or rooted and submerged, pondweed communities (A5, A6, A11, A12, A13, A14, A15 and A21)

• six communities in which rooted water-lilies and pondweeds with floating leaves are the constant species (A7, A8, A9, A10, A19 and A20)

• three communities in which water-crowfoots and/or starworts are the constant species (A16, A17 and A18)

• two hairgrass and quillwort communities (A22 and A23)

• a single community characterised by free-floating vegetation found in impoverished base-poor standing waters (A24)

[edit] List of aquatic communities

The following is a list of the communities that make up this category:

• A1Lemna gibba community Lemnetum gibbae Miyawaki & J. Tx. 1960

• A2 Lemna minor community Lemnetum minoris Soó 1947

• A3 Spirodela polyrhiza - Hydrocharis morsus-ranae community

• A4 Hydrocharis morsus-ranae - Stratiotes aloides community

• A5 Ceratophyllum demersum community Certaophylletum demersi Hild 1956

• A6 Ceratophyllum submersum community Certaophylletum submersi Den Hartog & Segal 1964

• A7 Nymphaea alba community Nymphaeetum albae Oberdorfer & Mitarb. 1967

• A8 Nuphar lutea community

• A9 Potamogeton natans community

• A10 Polygonum amphibium community

• A11 Potamogeton pectinatus - Myriophyllum spicatum community

• A12 Potamogeton pectinatus community

• A13 Potamogeton perfoliatus - Myriophyllum alterniflorum community

• A14 Myriophyllum alterniflorum community Myriophylletum alterniflori

• A15 Elodea canadensis community

• A16 Callitriche stagnalis community

• A17 Ranunculus penicillatus ssp. pseudofluitans community

• A18 Ranunculus fluitans community Ranunculetum fluitantis Allorge 1922

• A19 Ranunculus aquatilis community Ranunculetum aquatilis Géhu 1961

• A20 Ranunculus peltatus community Ranunculetum peltati Sauer 1947

• A21 Ranunculus baudotii community Ranunculetum baudotii Br.-Bl. 1952

• A22 Littorella uniflora - Lobelia dortmanna community

• A23 Isoetes lacustris/setacea community

• A24 Juncus bulbosus community