The International Vegetation Classification: Outline of an integrated physiognomic-floristic approach and applications to mitigation and restoration

Conservationists and land managers seeking to take a multi-faceted approach to ecosystem management and restoration benefit from consistent ways to characterize the landscape. One such consistent and flexible classification system is the International Vegetation Classification (IVC), developed by NatureServe and partners.  The IVC describes and documents vegetation patterns across the western Hemisphere, based on a global framework and set of standards, but with a hierarchical structure that proceeds from biome-scale formations to regional and local associations and alliances.  The integrated physiognomic-floristic approach is based on a synthesis of several schools of vegetation classification.  Partners in various countries lead efforts to develop national vegetation classifications (NVC), such as in the U.S. and Canada, and coordinate classification development across borders, both sub-nationally and internationally.  A coordinated peer-review system will allow partners to maintain a consistent list of vegetation types across multiple jurisdictions, facilitate assessment of sites for rare and representative examples of types, and provide benchmark descriptions and site locales for guiding restoration. Applications include U.S. wetland mitigation, restoration of California grasslands, and ecological integrity assessments based on benchmark or reference ecosystems in a variety of forest types.