Collections

This Permanent Collection is a continuation of the one launched under the previous journal title, Plant Sociology, and the earlier publications are available here.

In the era of the Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to achieve universal benefits with the motto "NO ONE LEFT BEHIND," it is crucial for plant scientists to bridge the existing knowledge gaps in habitats and associated species distribution. In this context, the Habitats Directive (European Directive 92/43/EEC) stands as one of the most comprehensive tools for managing and conserving our natural heritage.

Building on the substantial progress made over the past half-decade in implementing the Habitats Directive by the journal Vegetation Diversity and Ecology, this Topical Collection aims to establish a repository for even more significant and synergistic efforts in the future. It emphasizes enhanced collaboration from plant scientists across EU Member States, ensuring a wider and more collective approach to conservation efforts.

With this Topical Collection, our goal is to dedicate the remaining half-decade until 2030—a pivotal new milestone for the future of our Planet—towards establishing a scientific platform dedicated to a series of articles concerning the Habitats Directive, with a particular focus on the distribution and monitoring of Annex I habitats.

The Topical Collection will include the “New Habitat Records” (NHR) articles, regarding the recording of Annex I habitats of community interest within the EU territory. For the Authors interested in contributing, please read the NHR instructions downloadable here.

This Permanent Collection is a continuation of the one launched under the previous journal title, Plant Sociology, and the earlier publications are available here.

In the era of the Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to achieve universal benefits with the motto "NO ONE LEFT BEHIND," it is cruci ...

This Permanent Collection is a continuation of the one launched under the previous journal title, Plant Sociology, and the earlier publications are available here.

Vegetation classification is the process of organizing plant communities into categories based on shared characteristics such as species composition, structure, functional traits, and ecological functions. The classification of vegetation types helps to identify patterns, relationships, and the underlying processes that shape plant community distributions across different landscapes.  Vegetation is typically classified into various levels, ranging from broad types (like forests, grasslands, wetlands, phytosociological classes or orders) to more specific types (like beech forests, peat bogs, phytosociological alliances or associations).  

The value of vegetation classification has grown significantly in recent years due to the increasing urgency of environmental challenges. Vegetation classification plays a crucial role for basic and applied research in the context of ecological studies, conservation efforts as well as for environmental management. As ecosystems face threats from climate change, deforestation, and urbanization, understanding the composition and ecology of different vegetation types is crucial for monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem stability, for guiding ecological restoration projects and for selecting the types of vegetation that can thrive in degraded areas.

This Topical Collection invites contributions that explore all aspects of vegetation classification in the context of different terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, in a specific region or across different regions or time periods. These may include studies on the description and classification of vegetation types dominated by or co-dominated both by native and alien plants, including information about their indicator species and ecological features. Furthermore, the collection encompasses both classical and numeral approach to vegetation classification, but also a vegetation classification that define vegetation types using also functional traits and ecological indices/data linked to the role that different species play within a community. Finally, contributions are welcomed that establish formalized standard procedures with the aim of promoting methodological standardization in classification.

This Permanent Collection is a continuation of the one launched under the previous journal title, Plant Sociology, and the earlier publications are available here.

Vegetation classification is the process of organizing plant communities into categories based on shared characteristics such as species  ...

This Permanent Collection is a continuation of the one launched under the previous journal title, Plant Sociology, and the earlier publications are available here.

Remote sensing is a powerful and versatile technology that involves the acquisition of information about the Earth's surface, utilizing various platforms such as satellites, aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). A variety of sensors capture data across different spectral bands, enabling detailed observation and analysis of terrestrial ecosystems. This technology has revolutionized the field of vegetation ecology by providing the means to monitor, analyze, and manage vegetation across large spatial scales with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency. One of the main advantages of remote sensing in vegetation studies is its ability to collect information over extensive areas that are often inaccessible or impractical to survey through traditional field methods. This capability is particularly crucial for large-scale ecological studies, change detection, habitat mapping, and monitoring biodiversity. Remote sensing technology also offers high temporal resolution, allowing for continuous and repeatable observations that are essential for tracking changes in vegetation dynamics over time. Furthermore, image processing techniques enable the integration of multi-spectral and hyper-spectral data, which can reveal detailed information about vegetation health, species composition, and ecological processes. This Topical Collection aims to compile cutting-edge research that leverages remote sensing for vegetation ecology. We invite contributions that focus on recent methods for vegetation classification, vegetation mapping of habitats, and advancements in phytosociology enhanced by remote sensing techniques. Additionally, studies that employ both satellite and UAV imagery to develop innovative methods and applications in vegetation analysis are highly encouraged. Through this collection of papers, we hope to showcase the latest advancements in remote sensing technology and its transformative impact on the study and management of vegetation.

This Permanent Collection is a continuation of the one launched under the previous journal title, Plant Sociology, and the earlier publications are available here.

Remote sensing is a powerful and versatile technology that involves the acquisition of information about the Earth's surface, utilizing v ...

This Permanent Collection is a continuation of the one launched under the previous journal title, Plant Sociology, and the earlier publications are available here.  

European knowledge of plant communities is globally by far the most accurate thanks to the long vegetation survey tradition. This expertise translated into European policies and entailed a number of applied conservation measures. The analysis of the variability of vegetation across ecological gradients may significantly improve our understanding of vegetation dynamics, thus ameliorating the accuracy to predict the fate of ecosystems under future environmental scenarios. This Topical Collection comprises contributions dealing with vegetation types and their species composition in the Anthropocene, and studies aiming to disentangle the role of variability at different biological organization levels, from species to communities, in explaining ecological processes. Furthermore, contributions analyzing threats for the conservation of vegetation types, and of their effects, are welcome as they may contribute to make a step forward in the protection of our natural, near-natural, and cultural ecosystems that are rapidly changing.

This Permanent Collection is a continuation of the one launched under the previous journal title, Plant Sociology, and the earlier publications are available here.  

European knowledge of plant communities is globally by far the most accurate thanks to the long vegetation survey tradition. This exper ...