A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types . The components of each plant community are influenced by soil type , topography , climate and human disturbance. In many cases there are several soil types present within a given plant community. This is because the soil type within an area is influenced by two factors, the rate at which water infiltrates or exits (via evapotranspiration ) the soil, as well as the rate at which organic matter (any carbon-based compound within the environment, such as decaying plant matter) enters or decays from the soil. Plant communities are studied substantially by ecologists, due to providing information on the effects of dispersal, tolerance to environmental conditions, and response to disturbance of a variety of plant species, information valuable to the comprehension of various plant community dynamics.
15-407: Shrubland , scrubland , scrub , brush , or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs , often also including grasses , herbs , and geophytes . Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It may be the mature vegetation type in a particular region and remain stable over time, or a transitional community that occurs temporarily as
30-463: A shrub is defined as a much-branched woody plant less than 8 m high and usually with many stems . Tall shrubs are mostly 2–8 m high, small shrubs 1–2 m high and subshrubs less than 1 m high. There is a descriptive system widely adopted in Australia to describe different types of vegetation is based on structural characteristics based on plant life-form , plus the height and foliage cover of
45-567: Is Carex shreberi . Other representative forbs occurring in these steppe grasslands are Artemisia austriaca and Polygonum aviculare . Other examples of different plant communities include the forests located on the granite peaks of the Huangshan Mountains in Eastern China. The deciduous broad-leaved forest, present from a height of 1,100 metres, is populated by trees such as Pinus hwangshanesis , also known as
60-614: Is in central Westland in the South Island, New Zealand. These forests are the most extensive continuous reaches of podocarp /broadleaf forests in that country. The canopy includes Prumnopitys ferruginea , rimu and mountain totara . The mid-story includes tree ferns such as Cyathea smithii and Dicksonia squarrosa , whilst the lowest tier and epiphytic associates include Asplenium polyodon , Tmesipteris tannensis , Astelia solandri and Lomaria discolor . Schists Too Many Requests If you report this error to
75-436: Is similar in concept to a vegetation type , with the former having more of an emphasis on the ecological association of species within it, and the latter on overall appearance by which it is readily recognized by a layperson. A plant community can be rare even if none of the major species defining it are rare. This is because it is the association of species and relationship to their environment that may be rare. An example
90-539: Is the sycamore alluvial woodland in California dominated by the California sycamore Platanus racemosa . The community is rare, being localized to a small area of California and existing nowhere else, yet the California sycamore is not a rare tree in California. An example is a grassland on the northern Caucasus steppes , where common grass species found are Festuca sulcata and Poa bulbosa . The most common species defining this grassland phytocoenosis
105-475: Is the mature vegetation type, and in other places, the result of degradation of former forest or woodland by logging or overgrazing , or disturbance by major fires. A number of World Wildlife Fund biomes are characterized as shrublands, including: Xeric or desert scrublands occur in the world's deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregions or in fast-draining sandy soils in more humid regions. These scrublands are characterized by plants with adaptations to
120-479: The matas of Portugal , which are underlain by Cambrian and Silurian schists . Florida scrub is another example of interior scrublands. Some vegetation types are formed of dwarf-shrubs : low-growing or creeping shrubs. These include the maquis and garrigues of Mediterranean climates and the acid-loving dwarf shrubs of heathland and moorland . Plant community A plant community can be described floristically (the species of flowers or flora
135-444: The shrub layer , composed of vegetation and trees between a height of approximately one to five meters, the herbaceous layer , composed of vascular plants at a height of one meter or less, and sometimes also the moss layer , a layer of non-vascular bryophytes typically present at ground level (approximately 0.15 meters in height or less). In some cases of complex forests there is also a well-defined lower tree layer. A plant community
150-462: The Huangshan pine. The Huangshan mountain also possesses an evergreen broad-leaved forest community, home to a variety of shrubs and small trees. Some examples of species present in the evergreen broad-leaved forest community include Castanopsis eyrei , Eurya nitidia , Rhododendron ovatum , Pinus massoniana , as well as Loropetalum chinense . An example of a three tiered plant community
165-491: The dry climate, which include small leaves to limit water loss, thorns to protect them from grazing animals, succulent leaves or stems, storage organs to store water, and long taproots to reach groundwater. Mediterranean scrublands occur naturally in the Mediterranean scrub biome , located in the five Mediterranean climate regions of the world. Scrublands are most common near the seacoast and have often adapted to
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#1732780374568180-403: The plant community contains) and/or phytophysiognomically (the physical structure or appearance of the plant community). For example, a forest (a community of trees) includes the overstory , or upper tree layer of the canopy , as well as the understory , a layer consisting of trees and shrubs located beneath the canopy but above the forest floor. The understory can be further subdivided into
195-422: The result of a disturbance, such as fire. A stable state may be maintained by regular natural disturbance such as fire or browsing . Shrubland may be unsuitable for human habitation because of the danger of fire. The term was coined in 1903. Shrubland species generally show a wide range of adaptations to fire, such as heavy seed production, lignotubers , and fire-induced germination. In botany and ecology
210-470: The tallest stratum or dominant species . For shrubs that are 2–8 metres (6.6–26.2 ft) high, the following structural forms are categorized: For shrubs less than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high, the following structural forms are categorized: Similarly, shrubland is a category used to describe a type of biome plant group. In this context, shrublands are dense thickets of evergreen sclerophyll shrubs and small trees, called: In some places, shrubland
225-1007: The wind and salt air of the ocean. Low, soft-leaved scrublands around the Mediterranean Basin are known as garrigue in France , phrygana in Greece , tomillares in Spain , and batha in Israel . Northern coastal scrub and coastal sage scrub occur along the California coast, strandveld in the Western Cape of South Africa , coastal matorral in central Chile , and sand-heath and kwongan in Southwest Australia . Interior scrublands occur naturally in semi-arid areas where soils are nutrient-poor, such as on
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