Vegetation is the total set of plants that live in a territory or the sum of the plant communities of a geographic area; in other words, the vegetation cover of an area. This set of species is the object of study of phytosociology or geobotany science.
In the vegetation its systematic characteristics are not taken into account, nor does it delve into the scientific names of the species that are part of it.
The perception of the appearance of the vegetation of a certain place depends on environmental factors, such as atmospheric humidity, rainfall, winds, relief and soil types.
If the environmental conditions in a place allow the development of biological forms, these in turn will contribute to creating the conditions for the growth and development of other living species, thus forming a community of plants and animals with their own characteristics.
It is considered that there are three types of vegetation in general lines: forests and jungles (predominantly trees), shrubby regions (shrubs and grasses), and deserts or semi-deserts (scarcity of plant life).
The former are distributed over a third of the planet's surface and include the jungle (giant specimens, climbing plants or vines, ebony, mahogany, cocoa, orchids); the tropical forest (arborescent legumes, malvaceae, baobabs); the Mediterranean forest (Mediterranean pine, cypress, holm oak, oak, laurel); the deciduous forests (oak, elm, chestnut, walnut, etc.) and the taiga (alders, poplars and mostly conifers such as firs and pines).
The shrubby regions encompass the savannah (immense herbaceous extensions interrupted by mogotes and small forests, called gallery forests); the steppe (dry grasses, short grasses and shallow roots), and the prairie (long grasses, with relatively deep roots).
Desert areas include the desert (large-rooted plants such as cacti, yuccas, tamarisks, and agaves) and the tundra (tiny plants such as mosses, lichens, and sedges).
The aquatic vegetation presents a greater similarity with the biological forms. It is essentially concentrated in three levels: the marine littoral zone (green plants), the high seas zone (floating algae), and the sweet-aquaculture littoral zone (lakes, rivers and lagoons).
