This article gives an overview of the plant communities formed by vegetation of open habitats in the British National Vegetation Classification system.

Introduction

The open habitat communities of the NVC were described in Volume 5 of British Plant Communities, first published in 2000, along with the three groups of maritime communities (shingle, strandline and sand-dune communities, salt-marsh communities and maritime cliff communities).

Vegetation of open habitats in the British National Vegetation Classification system

In total, 42 open habitat communities have been identified.

Vegetation of open habitats in the British National Vegetation Classification system

The open habitat communities consist of eight distinct subgroups: six arable weed and trackside communities of light, less-fertile acid soils (OV1, OV2, OV3, OV4, OV5 and OV6) eight arable weed and wasteland communities of fertile loams and clays (OV7, OV8, OV9, OV10, OV11, OV12, OV13 and OV14) three arable weed communities of light, limey soils (OV15, OV16 and OV17) six gateway, trackside and courtyard communities (OV18, OV19, OV20, OV21, OV22 and OV23) four tall-herb weed communities (OV24, OV25, OV26 and OV27) five communities typical of periodically inundated habitats (OV28, OV29, OV30, OV32 and OV33) four dwarf-rush communities of ephemeral ponds (OV31, OV34, OV35 and OV36) six communities of crevice, scree and spoil vegetation (OV37, OV38, OV39, OV40, OV41 and OV42)

Vegetation of open habitats in the British National Vegetation Classification system

List of open habitat communities

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

OV1 Viola arvensis - Aphanes microcarpa community

OV2 Briza minor - Silene gallica community

OV3 Papaver rhoeas - Viola arvensis community

OV4 Chrysanthemum segetum - Spergula arvensis community

OV5 Digitaria ischaemum - Erodium cicutarium community

OV6 Cerastium glomeratum - Fumaria muralis ssp. boraei community

OV7 Veronica persica - Veronica polita community

OV8 Veronica persica - Alopecurus myosuroides community

OV9 Matricaria perforata - Stellaria media community

OV10 Poa annua - Senecio vulgaris community

OV11 Poa annua - Stachys arvensis community

OV12 Poa annua - Myosotis arvensis community

OV13 Stellaria media - Capsella bursa-pastoris community

OV14 Urtica urens - Lamium amplexicaule community

OV15 Anagallis arvensis - Veronica persica community

OV16 Papaver rhoeas - Silene noctiflora community

OV17 Reseda lutea - Polygonum aviculare community

OV18 Polygonum aviculare - Chamomilla suavolens community

OV19 Poa annua - Matricaria perforata community

OV20 Poa annua - Sagina procumbens community

OV21 Poa annua - Plantago major community

OV22 Poa annua - Taraxacum officinale community

OV23 Lolium perenne - Dactylis glomerata community

OV24 Urtica dioica - Galium aparine community

OV25 Urtica dioica - Cirsium arvense community

OV26 Epilobium hirsutum community

OV27 Epilobium angustifolium community

OV28 Agrostis stolonifera - Ranunculus repens community

OV29 Alopecurus geniculatus - Rorippa palustris community

OV30 Bidens tripartita - Polygonum amphibium community

OV31 Rorippa palustris - Filaginella uliginosa community

OV32 Myosotis scorpioides - Ranunculus sceleratus community

OV33 Polygonum lapathifolium - Poa annua community

OV34 Allium schoenoprasum - Plantago maritima community

OV35 Lythrum portula - Ranunculus flammula community

OV36 Lythrum hyssopifolia - Juncus bufonius community

OV37 Festuca ovina - Minuartia verna community

OV38 Gymnocarpium robertianum - Arrhenatherum elatius community

OV39 Asplenium trichomanes - Asplenium ruta-muraria community

OV40 Asplenium viride - Cystopteris fragilis community

OV41 Parietaria diffusa community

OV42 Cymbalaria muralis community