These maps show a scale, or index of greenness, based on several factors: the number and type of plants, leafiness, and plant health. Where foliage is dense and plants are growing quickly, the index is high, represented in dark green. Regions with sparse vegetation and a low vegetation index are shown in tan. Based on measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite. Areas where there is no data are gray.[1]
Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide.[2] It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader than the term flora which refers to species composition. Perhaps the closest synonym is plant community, but vegetation can, and often does, refer to a wider range of spatial scales than that term does, including scales as large as the global. Primeval redwood forests, coastal mangrove stands, sphagnum bogs, desert soil crusts, roadside weed patches, wheat fields, cultivated gardens and lawns; all are encompassed by the term vegetation.
The vegetation type is defined by characteristic dominant species, or a common aspect of the assemblage, such as an elevation range or environmental commonality.[3] The contemporary use of vegetation approximates that of ecologist Frederic Clements' term earth cover, an expression still used by the Bureau of Land Management.
^"Global Maps". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 8 May 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
^Burrows, Colin J. (1990). Processes of vegetation change. London: Unwin Hyman. p. 1. ISBN 978-0045800131.
^Introduction to California Plant Life; Robert Ornduff, Phyllis M. Faber, Todd Keeler-Wolf; 2003 ed.; p. 112
Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life...
The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is a widely-used metric for quantifying the health and density of vegetation using sensor data. It is...
it is partially exposed to air. Collectively, such plants are emergent vegetation. This habit may have developed because the leaves can photosynthesize...
and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by hydrophilic plants. Riparian zones are important in...
A vegetation deity is a nature deity whose disappearance and reappearance, or life, death and rebirth, embodies the growth cycle of plants. In nature worship...
forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which case they are also referred to as mossy forests. Mossy forests...
Vegetation classification is the process of classifying and mapping the vegetation over an area of the Earth's surface. Vegetation classification is often...
A vegetation index (VI) is a spectral imaging transformation of two or more image bands designed to enhance the contribution of vegetation properties and...
In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental...
Tropical vegetation is any vegetation in tropical latitudes. Plant life that occurs in climates that are warm year-round is in general more biologically...
limiting. As of 2005, arctic vegetation covered approximately 5×10^6 km2 (1.9×10^6 sq mi) of land. The area of Arctic vegetation decreased by approximately...
uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified...
(/ˈbaɪ.oʊm/) is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed...
annuals) are pioneers, or early-successional species. Others form the main vegetation of many stable habitats, occurring for example in the ground layer of...
lit. 'fine plants') is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa...
Barren vegetation describes an area of land where plant growth may be sparse, stunted, and/or contain limited biodiversity. Environmental conditions such...
seasonality of available water. Woody-stemmed shrubs and plants characterize vegetation in these regions. Above all, these plants have evolved to minimize water...
which, through the process of ecological succession in the development of vegetation in an area over time, have reached a steady state. This equilibrium was...
distinguishing features of an ecotone. First, an ecotone can have a sharp vegetation transition, with a distinct line between two communities. For example...
United States. Much more detailed and empirically based classifications of vegetation and life zones now exist for most areas of the world, such as the list...
northern coast therefore resemble those in central Europe and so does the vegetation. A limited Mediterranean influence is noticeable only on a very narrow...
They are the most familiar group of photoautotrophs that make up the vegetation on Earth's dry lands and wetlands. Embryophytes (/ˈɛmbriəˌfaɪts/) have...
in determining altitudinal zones, which consequently support different vegetation and animal species. Altitudinal zonation was first hypothesized by geographer...
uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant community are influenced by soil type...
The enhanced vegetation index (EVI) is an 'optimized' vegetation index designed to enhance the vegetation signal with improved sensitivity in high biomass...
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