Table A-5 — Key to the Vegetation Element of the Land Classification Framework- 

 Class: Herbaceous Vegetation' — Continued 



Class: Herbaceous Vegetation 



Subclass 



Group 



Formation 



Short grassland tundra 

 (grass tundra of Alaska) 



a. Bunch forming short grass- 



land tundra 



b. Sod forming short grassland 



tundra 



Forb-dominated vegetation 

 (herbaceous communities 

 with forb cover exceeding 

 50 percent) 



E. Hydromorphic freshwater 

 vegetation 



Tall forbs (forbs over 1 m 

 tall) (tall forb meadows, 

 Utah mountains) 



2. Low forbs (forbs 1 m or less 

 tall) (Aleutian forb mead- 

 ows, Alaska) 



1, Rooted vegetation (struc- 

 turally supported by water 

 but rooted in substrate, 

 e.g., water lilies) 



a. Mainly perennial flowering 



forbs, and ferns 



b. Fern communities especially 



in humid climates 



c. Mainly annual forbs 



a. Mainly perennial flowering 



forbs, and ferns 



b. Mainly annual forbs 



a. Tropical and subtropical 



forb formation without 

 seasonal contrasts 



b. Middle and higher latitude 



forb formations with sea- 

 sonal contrasts 



2. Free-floating vegetation (full 

 support by water and not 

 rooted in substrate, e.g., 

 water lettuce, duckweed) 



a. Tropical and subtropical 



free-floating formations 



b. Free-floating formations of 



the middle and higher 

 latitudes 



1 The key to the vegetation element is patterned after UNESCO 1973. The key contains a few examples of known communities in 

 the United States. 



31 



