Organization:Association (ecology)

Short description: Community of native species in an area, in ecology

In phytosociology and community ecology an association is a type of ecological community with a predictable species composition and consistent physiognomy (structural appearance) which occurs in a particular habitat type. The term was first coined by Alexander von Humboldt and formalised by the International Botanical Congress in 1910.

An association can be viewed as a real, integrated entity shaped either by species interactions or by similar habitat requirements, or it can be viewed as merely a common point along a continuum. The former view was championed by American ecologist Frederic Clements, who viewed the association as a whole that was more than the sum of its parts, and by Josias Braun-Blanquet, a Swiss-born phytosociologist. On the other end of the argument was American ecologist Henry Gleason, who saw these groupings of plant species as a coincidence produced by the "fluctuation and fortuitous immigration of plants, and an equally fluctuating and variable environment".

See also

• Plant community
• Species aggregate
• Alliance (taxonomy)

Further reading

• Weber, H.E.; Moravec, J.; Theurillat, J.-P. (2000), "International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature. 3rd edition", Journal of Vegetation Science 1 (5): 739–768, doi:10.2307/3236580, http://www.geobotany.org/library/pubs/WeberHE2000_jvs_739-768.pdf