EUNIS grassland and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens habitat types probability maps - version 1, Nov. 2021

This metadata describes the EUNIS grasslands and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens habitat types probability maps distribution datasets created from habitat probability mapping. Probability maps are refined versions of habitat suitability maps. Suitability maps model areas where the environment is suitable for a certain habitat type. Probability maps include information on existing land cover and narrow the modelled suitable distribution to areas where the habitat type is probable to occur.

These habitat types correspond to non-coastal land which is dry or only seasonally wet (with the water table at or above ground level for less than half of the year) with greater than 30% vegetation cover. The vegetation is dominated by grasses and other non-woody plants, including mosses, macrolichens, ferns, sedges and herbs. Includes semiarid steppes with scattered Artemisia scrub. Includes successional weedy vegetation. Excludes regularly tilled habitats (V1) dominated by cultivated herbaceous vegetation such as arable fields and managed grasslands such as recreation fields and lawns.

The verified grasslands and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens habitat samples used are derived from the Braun-Blanquet database (http://www.sci.muni.cz/botany/vegsci/braun_blanquet.php?lang=en) which is a centralised database of vegetation probability and comprises copies of national and regional databases using a unified taxonomic reference database. The geographic extent of the distribution data are all European countries except Armenia and Azerbaijan.