Vegetation inventory and conservation evaluation: a case study from the North York Moors, England

A survey of the vegetation of the North York Moors identified nine vegetation associations, one of which has not been recognized in other British uplands; callunetum vulgaris sub-association juncetosum squarrosi. The vegetation associations occur in a mosaic too detailed for mapping at any practical scale, so seven map classes based largely on terrain patterns were mapped from black-and-white aerial photographs.The map classes provide a suitable basis for assessing the extent to which a system of areas managed specifically for conservation might represent the biota of the North York Moors.