The stratum of vegetation where woody plants are typically more than 5 m in height, including mature trees, shrubs over 5 m tall, and lianas. Epiphytes growing on these woody plants are also included in this stratum.
S
Shrub
The stratum of vegetation where woody plants are typically more than 0.5 m tall but less than 5 m in height, such as shrubs, tree saplings, and lianas. Epiphytes may also be present in this stratum. Rooted herbs are excluded even if they are over 0.5 m in height, as their stems often die back annually and do not provide a consistent structure.
H
Herb
The stratum of vegetation consisting of herbs as well as woody plants less than 0.5 m in height. Also called the Field stratum.
G
Ground
The stratum of vegetation consisting of non-vascular plants growing on soil or rock surfaces. This includes mosses, liverworts, hornworts, lichens, and algae. Sometimes called the Non-vascular or Moss stratum.
F
Floating aquatic
The stratum of vegetation consisting of rooted or drifting plants that float on the water surface (e.g., duckweed, water-lily).
A
Submerged aquatic
The stratum of vegetation consisting of rooted or drifting plants that by-and-large remain submerged in the water column or on the aquatic bottom (e.g., pondweed). In aquatic environments the focus is on the overall strata arrangement of these aquatic plants. Emergent plant growth forms in a wetland should be placed in the appropriate strata listed above (e.g., alder shrubs would be placed in the shrub stratum, and cattail or sedges in the herb stratum).
mod
module
No vertical splitting of a plot, but rather a horizontal portion of a plot, generally a 10m x 10m square, though sometimes 5m x 20m
