Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS) in the first and second quarter of 2026

Posted on by

Prepared by Jürgen Dengler (on behalf of VCS Chief Editor)

VCS Editorial Meeting on 25 June 2026 in the Botanical Garden of Gijón during the IAVS Symposium (Photo: Pensoft)

In the first and second quarters of its 7th volume, Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS) has published five articles (see list below). Among these, the Chief Editors selected the contributions by Bergmeier (2026) and Costa et al. (2026) as the Editors’ Choice articles of the respective quarters, both being part of the Special Collection “Vegetation classification of islands and archipelagos”.

In his Research Paper, Erwin Bergmeier (Germany) presents a complete typology of all the vegetation types of an entire Greek island (Lemnos), based on 877 of his own relevés sampled over a period of eight years. In total, they represent 36 classes of the EuroVegChecklist system (Mucina et al. 2016), from the Adiantetea (moist rock communities) to Quercetea ilicis (Mediterranean oak forests). The community types are classified down to the association level, matched with EUNIS habitat types (Chytrý et al. 2020) and in an exemplary manner presented with well-elaborated synoptic tables (see below) and informative photos. This work significantly contributes to the development of the syntaxonomy in the Aegean region but also highlights inconsistencies in the EuroVegChecklist. This is a nice example of a very comprehensive study, where VCS is happy to allow longer papers (in this case, 39 printed pages).

In their Research Paper, José Carlos Costa and colleagues (Portugal) studied the maritime cliff vegetation of the Cabo Verde archipelago. Based on 167 vegetation plots, they described the new vegetation class Polycarpaeo lycioidis-Limonietea braunii, which is an Afrotropical analogue to the Western Palaearctic class Crithmo-Staticetea. Apart from providing an important puzzle piece to the syntaxonomy of the Afrotropical realm, this paper is also the first comprehensive application of TDV-optimisation, a new methodological concept recently proposed for vegetation classification by Monteiro-Henriques (2025).

The seventh volume was opened by the annual editorial of the Chief Editors (Willner et al. 2026). There we highlight how crucial well-prepared synoptic tables are for the description of vegetation and for making the classification concept of authors transparent. While we consider the synoptic table(s) the most important part of any paper that develops or revises a classification system, we experience that many authors prepare their vegetation tables very sloppily or do not provide any. With our editorial, we give practical guidelines how such synoptical tables should be prepared to meet at least the minimum requirements of our Author Guidelines, but in the best of cases maximise the impact of the paper. We strongly advise authors of such papers, to read this editorial before preparing their next submission as this can speed up the peer-review considerably.

The last three quarters of a year had been challenging for VCS. In autumn 2025 we experienced an all-time low in the number of manuscripts “in the pipeline” (between first submission and publication) of only seven, which led to only five papers being published in the first two quarters of 2026. While in 2025 we got our first and unexpectedly high Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 3.0, the increased APCs introduced in 2025 were likely more discouraging for many authors than the JIF attracted them. However, the new APC system of since 2025 enabled VCS to generate a first small profit for IAVS, while during the first five years we hand been subsidized. Luckily, researchers meanwhile have become more aware of the attractiveness of VCS as publication outlet, thus during the first months of 2026 we experienced a steadily increasing flow of submissions, with now 25 papers being in the pipeline (more than ever before, corresponding to what formerly was our annual production). We would thus like to encourage vegetation ecologists around the world to submit their best vegetation classification papers prepared at any scale (from synusiae to biomes) and with any methodology to VCS.

VCS-Pensoft booth during the IAVS Symposium with two of the Chief Editors (Photo: Pensoft)

Lastly, we would highlight the presence of VCS and of our publisher Pensoft at the IAVS Symposium in Gijón with two representatives. They had a well-attended booth where they presented VCS and topically related journals from their portfolio. On 25 June we then had our annual editorial meeting in the Botanical Garden of Gijón, led by the three Chief Editors, and attended by representatives of Pensoft and the IAVS Governing Board, various Associate and Guest Editors as well as Editorial Review Board members. We presented the development of the journal and had a fruitful discussion on new ideas, some of which will bear fruits soon (you will hear about that via our usual channels).

Volume 7 (2026), articles of the 1st and 2nd quarter

  • Willner, W., Biurrun, I. & Dengler, J. (2026) The art of synoptic tables. Vegetation Classification and Survey 7: 1−8. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.184722
  • Bergmeier, E. (2026) Diversity of vegetation and key to the plant communities of the island of Lemnos (North Aegean, Greece). Vegetation Classification and Survey 7: 9−47. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.171362
  • La Montagna, D., Fanelli, G., De Sanctis, M., Farcomeni, A., Maděra, P., Malatesta, L., Van Damme, K. & Attorre, F. (2026) A quantitative classification of chorotypes for the Socotra Archipelago’s non-endemic plants. Vegetation Classification and Survey 7: 49−63. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.176349
  • Costa, J.C., Neto, C., Bioret, F., Gomes, I., Capelo, J., Duarte, M.-C., Arsénio, P. & Monteiro-Henriques, T. (2026) TDV-optimization exemplified: Application to coastal cliff vegetation in Cabo Verde. Vegetation Classification and Survey 7: 65−81. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.173501
  • Roux, C., Thébaud, G. & Theurillat, J.-P. (2026) Nomenclatural and syntaxonomic note regarding the anteriority between the publications of the year 1926 by J. Braun-Blanquet and A. Luquet. Vegetation Classification and Survey 7: 83−93. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.171300

References

  • Chytrý, M., Tichý, L., Hennekens, S.M., Knollová, I., Janssen, J.A.M., Rodwell, J.S, Peterka, T., Marcenò, C. Landucci, F., Danihelka, J., Hájek, M., Dengler, J., (…) & Schaminée, J.H.J. 2020. EUNIS Habitat Classification: expert system, characteristic species combinations and distribution maps of European habitats. Applied Vegetation Science 23: 648–675.
  • Monteiro-Henriques, T. (2025) TDV-optimization: A novel numerical method for phytosociological tabulation. Vegetation Classification and Survey 6: 99–127. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.140466; see also https://vegsciblog.org/2025/07/26/twelve-years-with-diffval-and-tdv/
  • Mucina, L., Bültmann, H., Dierßen, K., Theurillat, J.-P., Raus, T., Čarni, A., Šumberová, K., Willner, W., Dengler, J., (…) & Tichý, L. (2016) Vegetation of Europe: Hierarchical floristic classification system of vascular plant, bryophyte, lichen, and algal communities. Applied Vegetation Science 19, Supplement 1: 3−264.