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The article presents 80 relevés of bryophyte communities on living trees and dead wood sampled within Holosiivskyi National Nature Park (Kyiv, Ukraine). They are referred to 16 associations of 5 classes (Frullanio dilatatae-Leucodontetea sciuroidis, Cladonio digitatae-Lepidozietea reptantis, Neckeretea complanatae, Hylocomietea splendentis, Platyhypnidio-Fontinalietea antipyreticae). Most frequent are communities dominated by Hypnum cupressiforme and H. pallescens of the class Frullanio dilatatae-Leucodontetea sciuroidis (on bark of living trees) and Brachythecium rutabulum of the class Cladonio digitatae-Lepidozietea reptantis (on dead wood). In mesic forests, trees are usually not inhabited by bryophyte communities. Much more often, they occur in wet forests, near water, and in mesic forests in ravines. Four associations are reported in Ukraine for the first time: Callicladietum haldaniani LeBlanc 1963, Brachythecio rutabuli-Plagiomnietum cuspidati (Felföldy 1941) Plamada 1982, Brachythecio rivularis-Hygrohypnetum luridi Philippi 1965, and Leptodictyo riparii-Hygroamblystegietum varii Hugonnot et Celle 2013.

Vegetation classification consistent with the Braun-Blanquet approach is widely used in Europe for applied vegetation science, conservation planning and land management. During the long history of syntaxonomy, many concepts and names of vegetation units have been proposed, but there has been no single classification system integrating these units. Here we (1) present a comprehensive, hierarchical, syntaxonomic system of alliances, orders and classes of Braun-Blanquet syntaxonomy for vascular plant, bryophyte and lichen, and algal communities of Europe; (2) briefly characterize in ecological and geographic terms accepted syntaxonomic concepts; (3) link available synonyms to these accepted concepts; and (4) provide a list of diagnostic species for all classes. Location: European mainland, Greenland, Arctic archipelagos (including Iceland, Svalbard, Novaya Zemlya), Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, Caucasus, Cyprus. Methods: We evaluated approximately 10 000 bibliographic sources to create a comprehensive list of previously proposed syntaxonomic units. These units were evaluated by experts for their floristic and ecological distinctness, clarity of geographic distribution and compliance with the nomenclature code. Accepted units were compiled into three systems of classes, orders and alliances (EuroVegChecklist, EVC) for communities dominated by vascular plants (EVC1), bryophytes and lichens (EVC2) and algae (EVC3). Results: EVC1 includes 109 classes, 300 orders and 1108 alliances; EVC2 includes 27 classes, 53 orders and 137 alliances, and EVC3 includes 13 classes, 24 orders and 53 alliances. In total 13 448 taxa were assigned as indicator species to classes of EVC1, 2087 to classes of EVC2 and 368 to classes of EVC3. Accepted syntaxonomic concepts are summarized in a series of appendices, and detailed information on each is accessible through the software tool EuroVegBrowser. Conclusions: This paper features the first comprehensive and critical account of European syntaxa and synthesizes more than 100 yr of classification effort by European phytosociologists. It aims to document and stabilize the concepts and nomenclature of syntaxa for practical uses, such as calibration of habitat classification used by the European Union, standardization of terminology for environmental assessment, management and conservation of nature areas, landscape planning and education. The presented classification systems provide a baseline for future development and revision of European syntaxonomy. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion