This article gives an overview of the woodland and scrub communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.
The woodland and scrub communities of the NVC were described in Volume 1 of British Plant Communities, first published in 1991.
In total, 25 woodland/scrub communities have been identified, consisting of 19 woodland communities, four communities classed as scrub and 2 as underscrub.
The woodland communities consist of:
Six mixed deciduous or oak/birch woodland communities, which between them are found throughout Britain
Three Beech woodland communities, found mainly in southern England
A Yew woodland community, almost completely restricted to southeast England (community W13)
A Scots Pine woodland community, restricted to Scotland
A Juniper woodland community (community W19)
Seven wet woodland communities, characterised by the presence of alder, birch and willows (communities W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6 and W7).
Communities of arctic-alpine willows
The scrub communities consist of:
Communities consisting of shrubs such as hawthorn, blackthorn and elder
Gorse and broom scrub
The underscrub communities consist of bramble and bracken underscrub.
A further scrub community, SD18, dominated by Sea Buckthorn, is classified among the sand-dune communities.
List of woodland and scrub communities
The following is a list of the communities that make up this category:
W1 Salix cinerea - Galium palustre woodland
W2 Salix cinerea - Betula pubescens - Phragmites australis woodland
W3 Salix pentandra - Carex rostrata woodland
W4 Betula pubescens - Molinia caerulea woodland
W5 Alnus glutinosa - Carex paniculata woodland
W6 Alnus glutinosa - Urtica dioica woodland
W7 Alnus glutinosa - Fraxinus excelsior - Lysimachia nemorum woodland
W8 Fraxinus excelsior - Acer campestre - Mercurialis perennis woodland
W9 Fraxinus excelsior - Sorbus aucuparia - Mercurialis perennis woodland
W10 Quercus robur - Pteridium aquilinum - Rubus fruticosus woodland
W11 Quercus petraea - Betula pubescens - Oxalis acetosella woodland
W12 Fagus sylvatica - Mercurialis perennis woodland
W13 Taxus baccata woodland
W14 Fagus sylvatica - Rubus fruticosus woodland
W15 Fagus sylvatica - Deschampsia flexuosa woodland
W16 Quercus spp. - Betula spp. - Deschampsia flexuosa woodland
W17 Quercus petraea - Betula pubescens - Dicranum majus woodland
W18 Pinus sylvestris - Hylocomium splendens woodland
W19 Juniperus communis ssp. communis - Oxalis acetosella woodland
W20 Salix lapponum - Luzula sylvatica scrub
W21 Crataegus monogyna - Hedera helix scrub
W22 Prunus spinosa - Rubus fruticosus scrub
W23 Ulex europaeus - Rubus fruticosus scrub
W24 Rubus fruticosus - Holcus lanatus underscrub
W25 Pteridium aquilinum - Rubus fruticosus underscrub
