Editing Vegetation (section)

{{Short description|Assemblage of plant species}}
{{For|the medical term|Vegetation (pathology)}}

[[File: MOD13A2 M NDVI.ogv|thumb|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/GlobalMaps/view.php?d1=MOD13A2_M_NDVI|title=Global Maps|date=8 May 2018|website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov|access-date=8 May 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711024610/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/GlobalMaps/view.php?d1=MOD13A2_M_NDVI|archive-date=11 July 2017}}</ref>]]

'''Vegetation'''  is an assemblage of [[plant]] species and the [[ground cover]] they provide.<ref name=Burrows>{{Cite book|last=Burrows|first=Colin J.|year=1990|title=Processes of vegetation change.|publisher=Unwin Hyman|location=London|isbn=978-0045800131|page=[https://archive.org/details/cropgeneticresou0000unse/page/1 1]|url=https://archive.org/details/cropgeneticresou0000unse/page/1}}</ref>  It is a general term, without specific reference to particular [[Taxon|taxa]], life forms, structure, [[Spatial ecology|spatial]] extent, or any other specific [[Botany|botanical]] or geographic characteristics. It is broader than the term ''[[Flora (plants)|flora]]'' which refers to [[species richness|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 forest]]s, coastal [[mangrove]] stands, [[sphagnum bog]]s, [[desert]] [[soil crust]]s, [[Road verge|roadside]] weed patches, wheat fields, cultivated [[garden]]s 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.<ref>Introduction to California Plant Life; Robert Ornduff, Phyllis M. Faber, Todd Keeler-Wolf; 2003 ed.; p. 112</ref> The contemporary use of ''vegetation'' approximates that of ecologist [[Frederic Clements|Frederic Clements']] term '''earth cover''', an expression still used by the [[Bureau of Land Management]].
[[File:Березовий ліс. Рівненська область.jpg|thumb|Picture of a birch forest, [[Ukraine]]]]