British NVC community MG6 (Lolium perenne - Cynosurus cristatus grassland) is one of the mesotrophic grassland

Mesotrophic grasslands in the British National Vegetation Classification system

This article gives an overview of the mesotrophic grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.-Introduction:The mesotrophic grassland communities of the NVC were described in Volume 3 of British Plant Communities, first published in 1992, along with the...

 communities in the British National Vegetation Classification

British National Vegetation Classification

The British National Vegetation Classification or NVC is a system of classifying natural habitat types in Great Britain according to the vegetation they contain....

 system. It is one of four such communities associated with well-drained permanent pastures and meadows.

This community is a virtually ubiquitous community of the British lowlands. There are three subcommunities, one of which is divided into a number of variants.

Community composition

The following constant species are found in this community:

• Common Mouse-ear (Cerastium fontanum)
• Crested Dog's-tail (Cynosurus cristatus)
• Red Fescue (Festuca rubra)
• Yorkshire-fog (Holcus lanatus)
• Perennial Rye-grass (Lolium perenne)
• White Clover
  White clover
  Trifolium repens, the white clover , is a species of clover native to Europe, North Africa, and West Asia...
  
   (Trifolium repens)

No rare species are associated with this community.

Distribution

This community is widespread in lowland areas of England, Wales and Scotland, with particular concentrations occurring in the Southwest Peninsula, Wales, the Midlands, and parts of northern England and southern Scotland.

Subcommunities

There are three subcommunities:

• the so-called typical subcommunity, subdivided into:
  • an Alopecurus pratensis variant
  • an Alopecurus geniculatus variant
  • a Deschampsia cespitosa variant
  • an Iris pseudacorus variant
• the Anthoxanthum odoratum subcommunity
• the Trisetum flavescens subcommunity