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ID no. Vegetation Type Description Corresponding Olson's vegetation type
1 Tropical rainforest Broadleaved, tall, evergreen forest. Drip tips and buttress roots common on trees. Main Tropical/Subtropical Forest; Broad-Leaved Humid Forest
2 Monsoon or dry forest Largely or entirely deciduous closed forest in tropics. No Olson analogue
3 Tropical woodland More open, deciduous woody vegetation (more than 6m tall). Open canopy; less than 60% canopy cover. Main Tropical/Subtropical Forest; Dry Forest and Woodland
4 Tropical thorn scrub and scrub woodland Lower woody vegetation (less than 6m tall), generally open with wide gaps between the bushes/low trees, in frost-free climate No Olson analogue
5 Tropical semi-desert Very open. Between 2% and 10% vegetation cover. Scattered clumps of grass or small shrubs. Nonpolar desert or semidesert (Sparse (rocky) vegetation, Other Desert and Semidesert, Cool Semidesert Scrub)
6 Tropical grassland Greater than 20% vegetation cover. Mainly grassy, very few woody plants (less than 5% cover). Tropical savanna or montane; Tropical Savanna and Woodland
7 Tropical extreme desert Less than 2% vegetation cover. Almost entirely barren. Nonpolar desert or semidesert (Sand Desert)
8 Savanna Greater than 20% vegetation cover, mainly grassy but with 5-20% tree cover. Tropical savanna or montane; Tropical Savanna and Woodland
9 Broadleaved temperate evergreen forest Mainly broadleaved and mainly evergreen trees, closed canopy (>60% crown cover). Without drip tips or buttress roots. Frosts occasionally occur Mostly mid-latitude broad-leaved and mixed (Woods,Temperate broad-leaved forest), Tropical/subtropical humid forest, Temperate/boreal forest;
10 Montane tropical forest Broadleaved evergreen trees. Closed forest canopy. Shorter than lowland forests, tending not to have drip tips or buttress roots. No Olson analogue
11 Open boreal woodlands Open woody vegetation (less than 60% canopy cover). Highly frost tolerant trees. Northern or Maritime Taiga, subalpine
12 Semi-arid temperate woodland or scrub Low woody vegetation (less than 6m tall), generally open with wide gaps between the bushes/low trees, in a climate in which frosts occur Other dry woods mosaics
13 Tundra Greater than 2% cover by low shrubs (<1m) or grasses in a lowland climate with extremely cold winters and cool summers. Tundra
14 Steppe-tundra A vegetation type widespread during the Last Glacial Maximum, which combined plants of tundra and steppe environments. Probably around 50% ground cover by plants; bare ground abundant but patchy. No Olson analogue
15 Polar and alpine desert Less than 2% ground cover by any species of vascular plant. Cold climate virtually year-round. Polar or Rock Desert
16 Temperate desert Less than 2% ground cover in climate in which frost occurs. Cool desert and semi desert types
17 Temperate semi-desert 2-20% vegetation cover in a climate in which frosts occur. Cool desert and semi desert
18 Forest steppe 5-20% overall tree cover, often as patches of trees, in a mainly grassy landscape. In lowlands. Wooded tundra
19 Montane Mosaic Complex topographic mosaics of forest, tundra, grassland and montane desert. No Olson analogue
20 Alpine tundra Greater than 2% cover by low shrubs (<1m) or grasses in a mountain climate with cold winters and cool summers. No Olson analogue
21 Subalpine parkland 5-20% overall tree cover, often as patches of trees, in a mainly grassy landscape. Cool grassland/scrub. Subalpine.
22 Dry steppe Greater than 20% vegetation cover, mainly grasses. Relatively short <75cm) grasses, drier climate. Cool grassland/scrub.
23 Temperate steppe grassland Greater than 20% vegetation cover, mainly grasses. Relatively tall grasses and other plants (>75cm), moister climate. Main Grassland or shrubland; Cool grassland/scrub
24 Main Taiga Conifer forest with a fairly open canopy Mostly taiga and other conifer; Main Taiga
25 Lakes and open water Year-round open water, possibly freezing in winter. Water bodies
26 Ice sheet and other permanent ice Year-round ice or snow on surface. Ice
Vegetation categories and their description. The corresponding vegetation type(s) from Olson et al. (1983) are also indicated.

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