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CHARACTERISTICS OF A COMMUNITY

Characteristics of a community are classified into 2 main groups

1. Analytic characteristics: are those which help in the analysis of a community.
2. Synthetic characteristics: are generalizations or abstractions derived from the data on
analytic characteristics.
a. Qualitative characteristics
These are usually only described because of the greater difficulty in measuring.
b. Quantitative characteristics
These can be readily measured
Qualitative characteristics of a community
1. Floristic composition
2. Stratification
3. Periodicity (Phenology, Aspection)
4. Vitality (Vigor)
5. Life form
6. Sociability (Gregariousness)
7. Association of species
Quantitative characteristics of a community
1. Population Density (Abundance)
2. Cover (Area occupied)
3. Height of plants
4. Weight of plants
5. Volume occupied by plants
6. Frequency
Floristic Composition
 It is a complete list of spp. characteristic of a stand
 All vascular plants along with cryptophytes like lichens and mosses should be included
 Collection/inspections are required throughout the growing season to include all species
appearing in different seasons.
 Aid of a competent systematic Botanist should be taken and herbarium specimens should be
prepared for future reference
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 The total number and the average number of species per sample would tell about conditions of
the habitat.
 A decline in the number of spp. from one area to another indicates a possible increase in adverse
conditions.
Stratification
 It is the occurrence of organisms or their parts at different levels in a stand.
 It is readily observable above ground but is also present in the hidden root systems & rhizomes.
 Stratification usually occurs because life-forms such as trees, shrubs, herbs, mosses and lichens
differ in their requirements and amplitudes.
 They grow at various levels differing in light intensity, temperature, moisture conditions,
organic content of soil and other factors.
 The number of strata above grand depend upon: i) The type of community
ii) The stage of succession
 In a mature grassland 3 strata may be present. Two higher of grasses forbs and a lower of short,
prostrate herbs, mosses, lichens and algae.
Periodicity/Phenology/Aspection
 Periodicity is the regular, seasonal occurrence of various processes like photosynthesis, growth,
pollination, flowering, ripening of fruits, shedding of seeds and manifestation of the processes
by formation of leaves, elongation of shoots, appearance of flowers, dispersal of seeds.
 Phenology is the occurrence of the periodic phenomenon in relation to environmental factors (at
certain season of the year)
 Aspection is the appearance (aspect) of the whole community during different seasons.
 Periodicity is a strongly fixed character of plants of both temperate regions and tropical regions.
 Even if a change occurs in climatic conditions periodicity is not readily altered e.g., plants of
warm areas when shifted to colder regions show abnormal behaviour e.g. in Oaks, the abscission
by remains alive and green throughout winter and leaf-fall coincides with development of new
leaf buds.
 Most plant communities show a particular aspect at a particular time of the year, varying with
season.
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The chief aspects are:

Prevernal: Early spring
Vernal: Spring
Aestival: Summer
Serotinal: Autumn
Hiemal/Hibernal: Winter
 Keeping record of the phonological events in different plants have practical value. They can
help to predict the time of harvest, or when a range is ready for grazing and other practices.
 Environmental factors have great influence on phonological behaviour.
 Phenological behaviour influences competition and association of plants. The occurrence of
such events as vegetative growth, flowering and fruiting in different reasons reduces the
intensity of competition and favours association.
 In the final stage of succession in a plant community, phonological events are usually well-
coordinated with environmental conditions.
Vitality (Vigor)
 It relates to the condition of a plant and its capacity to complete the life cycle.
 Vigor is the state of health at a certain stage of development e.g. a plant may be vigorous or
feeble and poorly developed.
 The criteria used to determine vigor are:
o Rate and total amount of growth
o Rapidly to growth renewal in spring or after mowing/grazing
o Quantity or area of foliage
o Color and turgidity of leaves/stems
o Degree of damage by diseases
o Time of appearance of flowers
o Number of height of flower stalks
o Rate of growth and extent of the root system
o Appearance and development of stems and leaves
o Extent of dead portions
o Classification of vitality
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There are 4 classes:

Class 1: Well-developed plants, regularly completing their life-cycles
Class 2: Vigorous plans usually not completing their life cycle/poorly developed ones/sparsely
distributed plants spreading vegetatively
Class 3: Feeble plants never completing their life cycles, spreading vegetatively
Class 4: Plants occasionally germinating from seeds, not increasing in number e.g., Ephemeral
plants
 A large of number of spp. representing class 1 in a stand indicate that the resources of the site
area good, permitting interactions without serious competition.
 Other species belonging to other classes of vitality indicate that the species is not growing
within its ecological amplitude or competition is severe.
 The vitality and vigor may be used to differentiate ecotypes. An ecotype growing outside of its
natural environment will not be so vigorous as when growing with it.
Life-Form
 It means that the characteristic vegetative appearance of a plant, life size, shape, branching and
may also include the histological features.
 In a restricted sense it is also used to quote the different forms based on the location of
overwintering parts.
 The life-form of a species is caused by
o Primarily, the genetic constitution
o Secondarily, the environmental conditions
 Pronounced/drastic changes in environmental conditions bring great alteration in life-form e.g.,
some perennial grass may behave as annuals.
 In a simple plant community all the spp. May belong to the same life-form but most plant
communities have several to many e.g. grassland stand have many kinds like perennial
rhizomatous mat-formers, erect rhizomatous perennials, perennial bunch formers, small annuals
and various tall and short forbs.
 The structure of a community is determined by kinds of life-forms, the number of individuals in
each kind and their spacing.
 The type of life-form has influence on the association of spp. e.g. a stand of late maturing
grasses provides good opportunity for growth of early-maturing forbs.
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 The general appearance of a community is caused by the life-form of the most

abundant/dominant sp. than by other characteristics.
Classification
1. Raunkiaer’s (1934) system of life-forms is most widely known and based on the overwintering
parts/location of organs surviving summer drouth. His classification, modified by Braun-
Blanquet (1951) comprises 10 main classes:
2. Phytoplankton: Microscopic plants suspended in air, water or snow
3. Phytoedaphon: Microscopic soil flora
4. Endophytes: plants living wholly or partly within others; Algae in lichens.
5. Therophytes: Annuals, including algae, fungi, liverworts, mosses, many ferms and seed plants.
6. Hydrophytes: All water plants, perennating parts submerged.
7. Geophytes: Plants with perennating parts buried in the substratum e.g. rhizomes, bulbs.
8. Hemicryptophytes: Plants having buds close to surface, often covered with litter.
9. Chamaephytes: Plants with buds located from ground surface to 25 cm above it.
10. Phanerophytes: Shrubs, trees and vines, which buds located at 25 cm above the surface on
shoots.
11. Epiphytes: Plants growing on other plants
o Many of these classes have been subdivided
o A floristic biological spectrum is formed by different life-forms in a community and their
ratios expressed in numbers or percentages
12. Habitat-forms: are plants showing conditions of the habitat e.g. Cacti of arid climates or
Elodea submerged in water.
 These are ecological forms acting as indicators of environmental conditions.
 Their most common classification is
1. Hydrophytes: submerged, floating, amphibitious plants
2. Mesophytes: sun and shade plants
3. Xerophytes: plants, which endure drouth.
o The more detailed classification of habital forms is given by Iverson (1936)
1) Land, 2) Swamp, 3) Amphibious, 4) Water plants
Land plants: Comprise 5 classes.
i. Seasonal Xerophytes
 Have shallow root systems
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 Tolerance to endure long periods of drouth without absorbing water

ii. Euxerophytes
 Have well-developed root systems
 Wilt quickly when absorption of water stops
iii. Hemixerophytes
 Poor root systems
 Wilt quickly
iv. Mesophytes
 Poor, quick-wilting root systems
v. Hygrophytes
 Plants of wet areas
 Such classifications are useful in analyzing plant communities
Growth-form/Phenotypic-form
 Developmental form of plants of the same species under different environmental conditions.
 E.g. Salsola kali is upto 2 feet high when growing alone but 1-2 inches high in a grassland.
 Growth-forms may also vary in the same stand because of microhabitat conditions
 Under heavy grazing, growth-forms of grasses change
 Perennial rhizome grasses become smaller, more prostrate & form short dense turfs.
 Bunch grasses become smaller, with fewer & finer stems, chumps broken into smaller,
separated turf.
Sociability (Gregariousness)
 It refers to the proximity of plants of their shoots to one-another.
 It is quite dependent upon, life-form and vigor of the plant, habitat condition and its competitive
capacity.
 Classification according to the Braun-Blanquet scale (1951) has been widely used for rating
sociability of spp.
Class 1: shoots growing singly
Class 2: small groups of plants scattered tufts
Class 3: small scattered patches or cushions
Class 4: large patches or broken mats very large mats or stands of nearly pure populations
completely covering a large area e.g. Cattail in a marsh.
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 Plant species that propagate by rhizomes runners or roots are more sociable and tend to form
dense stands
 Other factors favouring sociability are the ability of shoots to tolerate shading, root competition
and high humidity.
 Plant spp. Spreading by seeds show a high degree of sociability
 This ability of seed plants is because of greater number of seeds produced, mobility of seeds,
rapid rate of germination and ability to survive competition and diseases
 Methods of vegetative propagation are conducive to aggregation/gregariousness
Association of spp.
 The growing together of two/more plant species in close proximity to one another as a regular
feature
 This is interspecific association
 Association of spp. Is often favoured by
o Similarity in ecological amplitude
o Similarity in geographic ranges
o Difference in lige-form (e.g. deep and shallow root systems)
o Dependence of one sp. on another e.g. for shade, for food (in parasites) for protection from
grazing.
 Association of two spp. may be so pronounced that the presence of one may indicate the
presence of another sp. in a stand.
 If environmental conditions change, the associated spp. may very
 Presence/absence of certain associated spp. has indicator-value in pointing to condition like:
o Severe competition
o Presence of disease
o Prevalence of unfavourable environmental conditions
Measurement of Interspecific Association
1. Association index
It is obtained by dividing the number (a) of random samples in a stand in which sp. A occurs
into the number (h) of sample in the same stand in which A & B occur together.
e.g. sp. A occurs in 40 samples (a=40)
sp. A occurs with B in 30 samples (h=30)
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Association index of sp. A = 30/40 = 0.75

Index of Similarity: Sorenson (1957)
This method was developed originally on the basis of species presence
If a = total number of spp. in community type A
b = total number of spp. in community type B
c = spp. present in both (common spp.)
Index of similarity = 2xc/a+b x 100
e.g. if a = 10
b = 15
c=6
= 2x6/10+15x100
Index of similarity = 12/25x100 = 48%

QUANTITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS
Population Density
 It denotes the number of individual plants in a unit area or space
 The number of individuals in a stand varies from place to place, numerous sample areas are to
be taken for reliable results
 The average area occupied by each individual can be obtained when the measured unit area is
divided by the number of individuals
 There are certain density-dependent or density governing factors e.g. intensity of light, which
may be drastically reduced in a pine stand preventing many other plants from reaching maturity
 A density independent factor or non-reactive factor is one having no effect on density e.g. CO2
content of air, which remains uniform
 Density values can show relative importance of each sp. in a stand when all plants are similar in
life-form and size
 But with plants having different life-forms e.g. grasses, forbs and dwarf, shrubs, density values
are insufficient for comparison and cover should also be taken
 In a five fold estimation scale plant spp. are rated:
o Individuals are very sparse
o Sparse
o Infrequent
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o Frequent to numerous
o Very numerous
 Because of difficulties in distinguishing separate individual plants (those propagating by
rhizomes/runners) or because of limitations in time, the scales are useful
 But they have greater value if based upon approximate numbers e.g.
S = 1-4 stalks/m2
I = 5-14 stalks/m2
F = 15-29 stalks/m2
N = 30-99 stalks/m2
VN = 100 or more stalks/m2
 Such data are useful in measuring the effects of reseeding, burning, spraying and successional
changes. The effects of grazing in rangelands can also b studied
Cover (Area Occupied)
 It is the area occupied in above-grand parts of plants as viewed from above
 It is also called herbage cover
 Each vegetation layer is considered separately as overlapping often occurs
 Basal area refers to the ground actually covered by the stumps/stems. It can be seen if
leaves/stems are clipped at the ground surface
 Herbage cover data are comparable but basal area data of different life-forms even in the same
sample area cannot be compared
 In researches centering on the permanent effects of grazing, charting/measurement is done at a
height of 1 inch (the height to which most spp. are grazed)
 Herbage area is one of the most important characteristics of vegetation in determining the nature
of the community and quantitative relations between spp.
 Cover is most important in recording change in a community
 The size of sample depends on the kind of vegetation being studied. In grassland it is often a
square metre, in forest 10 m2
 Advantage of studing many small areas is a thorough estimation while few large sample areas
may be selected to save time
 Common methods to secure data on cover include (1) Charting by hand (2) Area listing (3)
Point-contact method (4) Line interception method
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 Other estimation methods are the cover scales

Height of Plants
 The height of plants is a good indicator of their condition or vigor
 It indicates the success of sp. in various habitats
 It can be used as a measure of the favourableness of he environment
 Growth curves are often based on height measurements than dry weights
 Average height of herbage of different plant spp. in fairly dense stands can be calculated by
taking the maximum and minimum heights of a large number of plants
 The plants taken for measurement should be marked so that the same ones are observed each
time in the field
 Height measurements in a plant community may indicate the influence of competition
 The height of the above ground parts shows a relationship with the depth of the root system
 An important application of height measurements in the determination of range readiness in
spring for grazed is taken as a measure of proper utilization of the range
 Attempts have been made to correlate height measurements with weight and usually show a
high correlation but it is more reliable to measure each directly
Weight of Plants
 It is one of the most important quantitative characteristic, because increase in dry weight is the
best measurement for growth.
 It is a quantitative expression of the total mass of structural materials, food substance
protoplasm and other substances formed as a result of various metabolic processes
 It also indicates the basic reservoir of materials for additional growth and for endurance of
unfavourable conditions
 Most of the research on weight has been done on aboveground parts of plants, but recently work
has also been done on the weight of root systems and leaves separated from their stems
 Plants are often clipped in sample areas to observe their fresh and dry weights and pruned plants
are kept in large areas, which are caged (9.6 ft2) to study the effect of grazing
Volume Occupied by Plants
 It refers to the three-dimensional space occupied by plants and the word is especially used in
determining the height-weight relations of range plants.
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 Little work has been done on this aspect of ecology except in forestry where the volume of tree
trunks is measured to represent yield.
 The volume of small plants can be determined by immersing them in water in a graduated vessel
and measuring the displacement.
 The volume occupied by plants cannot be inferred from weight measurements because the
density (weight/unit volume) varies for different parts of plants and for different species.
Frequency
 It is the degree of uniformity of occurrence of individuals of sp. in an area.
 The distribution of a spp. is rarely regular or uniform in a stand because of variations in:
i. Microhabitat conditions of topography and soil.
ii. Vegetative propagation
iii. Quantity/dispersal of seeds
iv. Time taken by various spp. in invading an area
v. Grazing by livestock
vi. Activities of rodents, insects, disease causing organisms
 As a result patterns may be present with centres of higher frequency and greater abundance and
those with lower frequency/abundance
 Frequency is measured by noting the presence of a species in sample areas, distributed as widely
as possible in a stand and the results are expressed as a percentage, the frequency index or
percentage frequency
Example: If one/more individuals of a sp. are found in 15 out of a total of 25 samples,
its frequency is 60%
 Many spp. having low cover or population density also rate low in frequency but may have high
frequency value if they are uniformly distributed
 Sometimes in natural communities the individual plants tend to aggregate i.e., they are clumped
(over-dispersed), showing contagious distribution.
 They may also be regularly spaced (under dispersed), e.g. grasses.
 They may also occur entirely, such a distribution is normal or at random.
 Raunkiaer (1934) after studying frequency extensively classified the occurrence of spp. in an
area into 5 classes of frequency
A = Rare 1-20%
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B = Occasional 21-40%
C = Frequent 41-60%
D = Abundant 61-80%
E = V. abundant 81-100%
 On the basis of extensive data and weighted average percentages a specific ratio called
Raunkiaer’s Law of frequency could be developed represented as:
A>B>C 
 This ratio is the result of the effects of dominant spp. which by their superior competitive
capacity prevent others from equaling them in frequency. However, dominant spp. cannot stop
many spp. (rare spp.) from invading the area/some empty space
 This frequency ratio is useful in many kinds of studies in testing uniformity of vegetation
 The intensity of grazing and other environmental variables may affect the ratio
 The frequency index has been employed to reveal differences between communities subjected to
various conditions
 The frequency-abundance index can also be used in comparing the importance of one/more spp.
in various communities
 The description of a stand requires data both on the cover and frequency of various spp.
expressed in stand tables. Population density is also mentioned
 Although there are important relations between frequency and population density (as height and
weight), but one cannot be interpreted in terms of another. Each characteristic should have its
own quantitative data
 For accurate vegetation analysis the frequency index should be used with population density,
cover, weight, height, periodicity, constancy and fidelity
 However, frequency and cover give more information

Synthetic Characteristics
 Following the analysis of a stand, the data on cover, abundance, frequency etc. are assembled in
a Stand Table.
 When a number of stands have been analyzed the averaged/summarized data are assembled into
a Synthesis or Association Table, so that 10 or more stands are represented in one Table.
 Such tables give the information on the synthetic characteristics like presence and constancy,
fidelity, dominance, physiognomy and pattern.
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Presence and Constancy

 It refers to how uniformly a species occurs in a number of stands of the same community type.
 If a species is present in 18 out of 20 stands in one community type, constancy is 90%.
 The term constancy is used when equal, measured sample areas are used in each stand, but if the
samples are different from stand to stand, the term presence is preferred.
 When a single sampling unit per Stand is taken, it should be large enough to include most spp.
in the stand. This is called the Minimal Area.
 The minimal area can be determined by using the spp. number: area curve
 The point where the curve flattens is the approximate minimal area and may vary from 10-25 m2
 At least 10 stands should be analyzed for each kind of community
 Spp. may be classified into 5 classes of constancy
I: spp. are present in less than 20% of the stands
II: spp. are present in 21-40% of the stand
III: spp. are present in 41-60% of the stand
IV: spp. are present in 61-80% of the stand
V: spp. are present in 81-100% of the stand
 A large number of spp. in classes IV and V indicates floristic hemogenecity in the community
type.
 A high degree of constancy indicates that a sp. has a wide ecological amplitude or is capable of
growing in various habitats.
 Species occurring in 90% or more stands are called Constant species.
 Constant spp. are important in characterizing and distinguishing community-types.
Fidelity
 It refers to the degree to which a species is restricted in its occurrence to a particular kind of
community
 The causes of fidelity are:
o Species differ in ecological amplitude
o Species differ in the capacity to grow in a wide range of ecological conditions
o Some species are able to associate with others
o Some species are prevented from associating because of inability to compete
o Species show dissimilarities in adaptations for migration and invasion
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 Fidelity can be determined only by analyzing stands in several to many types of plant
communities within a region
 In the Braun-Blanquet (1951) scheme of classification 5 grades/classes of fidelity are:
A Characteristic species (Character spp./Faithful spp.)
5. Exclusive (treu): completely restricted to one kind of community
4. Selective (feste): occurring most frequently in one kind of community, rarely in others
3. Preferential (holde): occurring more or less abundantly in several community types but in
one certain kind of community with optimum conditions of abundance and vitality.
B Companion species
2. Indifferent (vage): occurring without any affinity/preference for any particular kind of
community
C Accidental species
1. Strange (frenade): rare and accidental intruders from another community
 Spp. of high fidelity have considerable value in indicating ecological conditions e.g.
restriction of particular species to particular soil conditions. They may be called “indicator-
species”
Dominance
 It refers to the predominating influence of one/more spp. n a stand, so that populations of other
spp. are suppressed or reduced in number or vitality.
 Dominants are spp. so highly successful ecologically in relation to their environment and with
other species that they determine the extent under which associated spp. must grow.
 In a grassland dominant spp. are a few but in a tropical rain forest, they may be many.
 Chief qualities determining dominance are cover and population density.
 Other important characters are frequency, height, life-form and vitality.
 In a mixed community trees or tall shrubs may be physiognomic dominants together with
grasses, which are ecologic dominants.
 When shrubs and trees grow close together to form a canopy, they become dominants in the
uppermost layer, while grasses are dominant in the ground layer.
 The synthetic Tables are helpful in determining dominants as they give quantitative data on
population density (sp./spp. occurring in more than 80% stands) may be designated dominants.
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 The dominant spp. often owe their dominance to excellent vitality, rapid growth of roots/shoots,
deeply penetrating roots, large crowns and good herbage cover, high frequency and dense
bunches.
Physiognomy and Pattern
 It refers to the appearance or look of stand
 It is a synthetic character as it is based on a number of qualitative character kinds and
dominance of spp. ehter.
 Life form, population density, cover, height, sociability, stratification, association of spp. and
color determine physiognomy.
 Physiognomy is valuable only in preliminary analysis to be followed by phytosociological
analysis. It cannot be substituted for analytic characters.
 It is useful in recognizing and delineating different kinds of communities.
 Physiognomy is also useful in broad and general descriptions of vegetation as an introduction to
thorough understanding of a stand.
 Pattern in vegetation occurs in the form of groups or clumps of individuals or in any other
arrangement of plants.
 In analyzing vegetation for pattern, the qualities like density, cover and frequency are the
important criteria.
Causes of Pattern
1. Morphological: in which the growth of a propagative organ such as rhizome is very important.
2. Sociological: in which competition and association of spp. are of great importance.
3. Physiograpic: in which topographic variations in soil moisture, concentration of nutrients, soil
texture, soil structure etc.
Pattern in relation to community dynamics
a. In the initial colonization of an area, the distribution of spp. may be at random without pattern
b. Contagious aggregation soon appears resulting in morphological and physiographic patterns
c. Following this, competition, replacement of species and association of species lead to
sociological patterns
d. When climax is approached, the pattern becomes less pronounced