Natural Plant Communities of Colorado
The U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) provides a hierarchical ordering of vegetation in the Unites States from broad scale formations like forests to fine-scale plant communities. The USNVC is organized into an 8-level hierarchy. The upper levels of the hierarchy are based on dominant and diagnostic growth forms that reflect environment at global to continental scales. The mid-levels are based on dominant and diagnostic growth forms and compositional similarity reflecting biogeography and continental to regional environmental factors. The lower levels (alliance and association) are based on diagnostic and/or dominant species and compositional similarity reflecting local to regional environmental factors.
CNHP tracks natural plant communities at the lowest level of the USNVC, the “plant association” level. Approximately 750 individual plant associations have been defined for Colorado, though there is not a complete statewide map of vegetation at this level and research is ongoing to refine this list. Read more about CNHP's natural plant community element occurrences or view our tracking list.
The USNVC is jointly administers by NatureServe, Ecological Society of America, and U.S. Geological Survey.
