View source for Aquatic communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system

{{Short description|UK plant community type}}
This article gives an overview of the [[aquatic plant|aquatic]] [[plant communities|communities]] in the [[British National Vegetation Classification]] system.

==Introduction==

The aquatic communities of the NVC were described in Volume 4 of ''[[British Plant Communities]]'', first published in 1995, along with the [[Swamps and tall-herb fens in the British National Vegetation Classification system|swamps and tall-herb fens]].

In total, 24 aquatic communities have been identified. 

The aquatic communities fall into the following six groups:
* four communities of the water surface and sub-surface, in which [[duckweed]]s and/or [[Hydrocharis morsus-ranae|Frogbit]] are the constant species; these communities ([[British NVC community A1|A1]], [[British NVC community A2|A2]], [[British NVC community A3|A3]] and [[British NVC community A4|A4]]) are found in moderately-rich to [[eutrophic]] standing waters
* eight free-floating or rooted and submerged, pondweed communities ([[British NVC community A5|A5]], [[British NVC community A6|A6]], [[British NVC community A11|A11]], [[British NVC community A12|A12]], [[British NVC community A13|A13]], [[British NVC community A14|A14]], [[British NVC community A15|A15]] and [[British NVC community A21|A21]])
* six communities in which rooted water-lilies and pondweeds with floating leaves are the constant species ([[British NVC community A7|A7]], [[British NVC community A8|A8]], [[British NVC community A9|A9]], [[British NVC community A10|A10]], [[British NVC community A19|A19]] and [[British NVC community A20|A20]])
* three communities in which [[water-crowfoot]]s and/or [[starwort]]s are the constant species ([[British NVC community A16|A16]], [[British NVC community A17|A17]] and [[British NVC community A18|A18]])
* two hairgrass and quillwort communities ([[British NVC community A22|A22]] and [[British NVC community A23|A23]])
* a single community characterised by free-floating vegetation found in impoverished base-poor standing waters ([[British NVC community A24|A24]]).

==List of aquatic communities==
The following is a list of the communities that make up this category:
* A1 ''Lemna gibba'' community ''Lemnetum gibbae'' Miyawaki & J. Tx. 1960
* A2 ''Lemna minor'' community ''Lemnetum minoris'' Soó 1947
* A3 ''Spirodela polyrhiza - Hydrocharis morsus-ranae'' community
* A4 ''Hydrocharis morsus-ranae - Stratiotes aloides'' community
* A5 ''Ceratophyllum demersum'' community ''Certaophylletum demersi'' Hild 1956
* A6 ''Ceratophyllum submersum'' community ''Certaophylletum submersi'' Den Hartog & Segal 1964
* A7 ''Nymphaea alba'' community ''Nymphaeetum albae'' Oberdorfer & Mitarb. 1967
* A8 ''Nuphar lutea'' community
* [[British NVC community A9|A9]] ''Potamogeton natans'' community
* A10 ''Polygonum amphibium'' community
* A11 ''Potamogeton pectinatus - Myriophyllum spicatum'' community
* A12 ''Potamogeton pectinatus'' community
* A13 ''Potamogeton perfoliatus - Myriophyllum alterniflorum'' community
* A14 ''Myriophyllum alterniflorum'' community ''Myriophylletum alterniflori''
* A15 ''Elodea canadensis'' community
* A16 ''Callitriche stagnalis'' community
* A17 ''Ranunculus penicillatus'' ssp. ''pseudofluitans'' community
* [[Ranunculetum fluitantis|A18]] ''Ranunculus fluitans'' community ''Ranunculetum fluitantis'' Allorge 1922
* A19 ''Ranunculus aquatilis'' community ''Ranunculetum aquatilis'' Géhu 1961
* A20 ''Ranunculus peltatus'' community ''Ranunculetum peltati'' Sauer 1947
* A21 ''Ranunculus baudotii'' community ''Ranunculetum baudotii'' Br.-Bl. 1952
* A22 ''Littorella uniflora - Lobelia dortmanna'' community
* A23 ''Isoetes lacustris/setacea'' community
* A24 ''Juncus bulbosus'' community.

{{NVC}}

[[Category:British National Vegetation Classification aquatic communities| ]]