Vegetation
Vegetation may be defined as the mosaic of plant communities in the landscape. Its significance as a resource and as an indicator of site qualities requires that the most accurate information be available on the character of the individual plant communities, their location, and their extent. This information permits correlating vegetation and its seasonal variations with various features of the environment. When the location and extent of the plant communities are shown on a topographic (contour) map, the geographical distribution pattern of vegetation in the landscape is revealed, and the ecological significance of the plant communities can be inferred (Küchler, 1967).
Criteria
One of the first steps in mapping vegetation is selecting an appropriate method to analyze the character of the plant communities. The criteria employed in analyzing and classifying vegetation are numerous and varied and are summarized in Table 1.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Cain, S. A., and G. M. de Oliveira Castro, 1959, Manual of Vegetation Analysis. New York: Harper & Bros., 325p.
Ellenberg, H., and D. Mueller-Dombois, 1973, Aims and Methods of Vegetation Ecology. New York: Wiley, 547p.
Fosberg, F. R., 1961, A classification of vegetation for general purposes, Tropical Ecology 2, 1–28.
Küchler, A. W., 1967, Vegetation Mapping. New York: Ronald Press Co., 472p.
Küchler, A. W., 1973, Problems in classifying and mapping vegetation for ecological regionalization, Ecology 54, 512–523.
Long, G., 1974, Diagnostic phytoécologique et aménagement du terroir. I: Principes généraux et méthodes. Paris: Masson & Cie. 252p.
Ozenda, P., ed., 1963ff, Documents de cartographie écologique. Grenoble: Laboratory of Vegeation Biology, Domaine Universitaire.
Radambrasil, 1974ff, Projeto Radambrasil. Brasilia, Brazil: Ministry of Mining and Energy, National Department of Mineral Production.
Sochava, V. B., ed., 1969ff, Cartographic Geobotany. Leningrad: Komarov Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
UNESCO, 1973, International classification and mapping of vegetation, Ecology and Conservation, No. 6. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Van Dijk, A., D. C. P. Thalen, and I. S. Zonneveld, 1977, The Application of Satellite-Multi-Spectral Scanning in Land Survey: Preliminary Experiences with Optical and Digital Image (Pre)Processing of an Area near Kahama, Tanzania. Enschede: International Institute for Aerial Survey and Earth Sciences (ITC).
Zonneveld, I. S., H. A. M. J. Van Gils, and D. C. P. Thalen, 1979, Aspects of the I.T.C. approach to vegetation survey, Documents phytosociologiques, n.s. 4, 1029–1061.
Cross-references
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1988 Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc.
About this entry
Cite this entry
KÜchler, A.W. (1988). Vegetation mapping . In: General Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30844-X_113
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30844-X_113
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-442-22499-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-30844-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive