Classification and description of world formation types. Part. I (Introduction)

Abstract

A vegetation-ecologic classification approach has been developed in which a combination of vegetation attributes (physiognomy, structure, and floristics) and their response to ecological and biogeographic factors are used as the basis for classifying vegetation types (Faber-Langendoen et al. 2012). This approach can help support international, national and subnational classification efforts. Support for many aspects of the development of classification was provided by the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) partnership, in conjunction with development of the International Vegetation Classification (IVC) (FGDC 2008, Faber-Langendoen et al. 2009, Jennings et al. 2009). The classification structure was largely developed by the Hierarchy Revisions Working Group (HRWG), which contained members from across the Americas. The group was authorized by the U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) to develop a revised vegetation classification, global in scope, to replace the earlier versions of the structure that guided the USNVC and IVC, which relied on the UNESCO (1973) global classification (see FGDC 1997, Grossman et al. 1998). In this document, we summarize the development of the upper formation levels.

Citation

Faber-Langendoen, D.; Keeler-Wolf, T.; Meidinger, D.; Josse, C.; Weakley, A.; Tart, D.; Navarro, G.; Hoagland, B.; Ponomarenko, S.; Saucier, J.-P.; Fults, G.; Helmer, E. 2012. Classification and description of world formation types. Part. I (Introduction). Hierarchy Revisions Working Group, Federal Geographic Data Committee, FGDC Secretariat, U.S. Geological Survey and NatureServe, Reston, VA and Arlington, VA.