This is a simple interactive key for quickly matching plants to NVC communities using the JNCC’s NVC Floristic Tables spreadsheet (2006) and Ellenberg indicators.
https://waxcaps.com/tools/nvc_key.html
Instructions
- Walk around a patch of one homogeneous type of vegetation and type the name of each plant into the Search box.
- Partial matches are supported, eg:
“r sq” = Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus
“dac g” = Dactylis glomerata - For best results, list as many species as you can find (especially grasses), but ignore species if only a single individual is present.
- The number of communities a species occurs in is displayed beside its name. Click its name to view the full list.
- Partial matches are supported, eg:
- Set the approximate frequency of each species to use weighted scoring, or leave as “any” for simple presence/absence scoring.
- Low = 1 – 3 (1 – 39%) – occasional
- Med = 4 – 6 (40 – 69%) – frequent
- High = 7 – 10 (70 – 100%) – dominant
- The best-fitting NVC communities will be displayed in the main panel. Click on a card to see all species in that community.
Scoring
- Communities score points for each species they contain that’s on your list, relative to their constancy value.
- Species that are sparse or over-abundant are worth fewer points.
- Communities lose points if their highest-constancy species are not in your list.
- Ellenberg indicator values (light, moisture, pH, nutrients, salinity) are averaged across your selected species and the species in each community. Communities lose points if any factor is >15% higher or lower than your species.
Note
This is not intended for serious botanising as it produces different results than calculating floristic tables manually or using TABLEFIT / TABLECORN / MAVIS software.
Species names have been updated from those in the original spreadsheet to currently accepted names using GBIF API. If a species cannot be found, try a synonym. Species described after 2006 are missing.