Habitat classification is not like species classification. There is no clearly agreed ‘taxonomy’ and many different systems have been developed, often independently of each other and for different purposes. Although botanists have been classifying vegetation for the past century, habitat classification, which builds on the system of European vegetation classification so as to include abiotic features of the habitat, is a relatively new development.

The need for a classification has several driving forces:

  • establishment of habitat protection legislation
  • inventory of habitats in a country, region, or site
  • biodiversity monitoring and reporting
  • or description of a species’ habitat requirements

Current information on terrestrial habitat classification schemes can be found on the JNCC website

NBN Habitats Dictionary

The NBN Habitats Dictionary is no longer available, so we hope that the information on the JNCC website will be of help to you.  If you have been a user of the NBN Habitats Dictionary in the past, please feel free to contact us