Mires in the British National Vegetation Classification system

This article gives an overview of the mire plant communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.

Introduction

The mire communities of the NVC were described in Volume 2 of British Plant Communities, first published in 1991, along with the heath communities.

In total, 38 mire communities have been identified.

The mire communities consist of a number of separate subgroups.

• five bog plane communities (M17, M18, M19, M20 and M21)
• two wet heath communities (M15 and M16)
• four bog-pool communities (M1, M2, M3 and M4)
• four base-poor small sedge & rush communities (M5, M6, M7 and M8)
• six base-poor small sedge & Schoenus communities (M9, M10, M11, M12, M13 and M14)
• seven fen-meadow / rush-pasture communities (M22, M23, M24, M25, M26, M27 and M28)
• two soakaway communities (M29 and M30)
• eight communities of springs and rills (M31, M32, M33, M34, M35, M36, M37 and M38)

List of mire communities

The following is a list of the communities that make up this category:

• M1 Sphagnum auriculatum bog pool community
• M2 Sphagnum cuspidatum/recurvum bog pool community
• M3 Eriophorum angustifolium bog pool community
• M4 Carex rostrata - Sphagnum recurvum mire
• M5 Carex rostrata - Sphagnum squarrosum mire
• M6 Carex echinata - Sphagnum recurva/auriculatum mire
• M7 Carex curta - Sphagnum russowii mire
• M8 Carex rostrata - Sphagnum warnstorfii mire
• M9 Carex rostrata - Calligeron cuspidatum/giganteum mire
• M10 Carex dioica - Pinguicula vulgaris mire Pinguiculo-Caricetum dioicae Jones 1973 emend.
• M11 Carex demissa - Saxifraga aizoides mire Carici-Saxifragetum aizoidis McVean & Ratcliffe 1962 emend.
• M12 Carex saxatilis mire Caricetum saxatilis McVean & Ratcliffe 1962
• M13 Schoenus nigricans - Juncus subnodulosus mire Schoenetum nigricantis Koch 1926
• M14 Schoneus nigricans - Narthecium ossifragum mire
• M15 Scirpus cespitosus - Erica tetralix wet heath
• M16 Erica tetralix - Sphagnum compactum wet heath Ericetum tetralicis Schwickerath 1933
• M17 Scirpus cespitosus - Eriophorum vaginatum blanket mire
• M18 Erica tetralix - Sphagnum papillosum raised and blanket mire
• M19 Calluna vulgaris - Eriophorum vaginatum blanket mire
• M20 Eriophorum vaginatum raised and blanket mire
• M21 Narthecium ossifragum - Sphagnum papillosum valley mire Narthecio-Sphagnetum euatlanticum Duvigneaud 1949
• M22 Juncus subnodulosus - Cirsium palustre fen-meadow
• M23 Juncus effusus/acutiflorus - Galium palustre rush-pasture
• M24 Molinia caerulea - Cirsium dissectum fen-meadow Cirsium-Molinietum caeruleae Sissingh & De Vries 1942 emend.
• M25 Molinia caerulea - Potentilla erecta mire
• M26 Molinia caerulea - Crepis paludosa mire
• M27 Filipendula ulmaria - Angelica sylvestris mire
• M28 Iris pseudacorus - Filipendula ulmaria mire Filipendulo-Iridetum pseudacori Adam 1976 emend.
• M29 Hypericum elodes - Potamogeton polygonifolius soakaway Hyperico-Potametum polygonifolii (Allorge 1921) Braun-Blanquet & Tüxen 1952
• M30 Related vegetation of seasonally-inundated habitats Hydrocotyla-Baldellion Tüxen & Dierssen 1972
• M31 Anthelia judacea - Sphagnum auriculatum spring Sphagno auriculati-Anthelietum judaceae Shimwell 1972
• M32 Philonotis fontana - Saxifraga stellaris spring Philonoto-Saxifragetum stellaris Nordhagen 1943
• M33 Pohlia wahlenbergii var. glacialis spring Pohlietum glacialis McVean & Ratcliffe 1962
• M34 Carex demissa - Koenigia islandica flush
• M35 Ranunculus omiophyllus - Montia fontana rill
• M36 Lowland springs and streambanks of shaded situations Cardaminion (Maas 1959) Westhoff & den Held 1969
• M37 Cratoneuron commutatum - Festuca rubra spring
• M38 Cratoneuron commutatum - Carex nigra spring

References

• National Vegetation Classification field guide to mires and heaths by Joint Nature Conservation Committee Archived 2012-09-04 at the Wayback Machine