Numerical classification of the Carici caryophylleae-Genistetea lobelii in Corsica (France)

The class 'Carici caryophylleae-Genistetea lobelii Klein 1972' corresponds to Cyrno-Sardian oromediterranean cushion-scrubs and related grasslands. In France, this class is only present in Corsica and the syntaxonomic scheme is debated among phytosociologists. This paper aims to highlight the main plant associations of the Carici caryophylleaeGenistetea lobelii Klein 1972 and to define the diagnostic species for each phytosociological unit. Diagnostic species are defined as species with a distinct concentration of occurrence or abundance in a particular vegetation unit. We compiled 519 vegetation plots and we applied the EuroVegChecklist expert system for the classes of European vegetation to only retain vegetation plots belonging to the Carici caryophylleae-Genistetea lobelii. We obtained a dataset with 189 vegetation plots, and we classified them using the Modified TWINSPAN classification. Our analyses identified six plant associations and three sub-associations that have already been described in the literature; and we were able to describe a new alliance corresponding to supramediterranean plant communities (Genistion salzmannii). For each of them, we identified diagnostic, constant, and dominant species and produced their distribution map. Formal definitions were then written for each phytosociological unit (from sub-association to class) and grouped in an expert system to classify the plant communities of the Carici caryophylleae-Genistetea lobelii.