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British NVC community W17

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NVC community W17 (Quercus petraea - Betula pubescens - Dicranum majus woodland) is one of the woodland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of the six communities falling in the "mixed deciduous and oak/birch woodlands" group.

This is a widely distributed community in northern and western Britain and represents mossy deciduous woodland of the uplands. There are four subcommunities.

Community composition

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Two constant species are found in the tree canopy of this community:

Eight constant species are found in the field and ground layers of this community:

Rare species associated with the community include Hymenophyllum wilsonii and a number of oceanic bryophytes.

Distribution

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This community is widespread throughout upland areas of Britain. The subcommunities show some geographical localisation with W17a predominantly western and W17d predominantly eastern.

Subcommunities

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There are four subcommunities:

References

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  • Rodwell, J. S. (1991) British Plant Communities Volume 1 - Woodlands and scrub ISBN 0-521-23558-8 (hardback), ISBN 0-521-62721-4 (paperback)

Further reading

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Averis, A. et al. (2004). An Illustrated Guide to British Upland Vegetation. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Peterborough.