United States Updates National Standard for Ecosystem Classification

by NatureServe
October 21, 2025

NatureServe, the Ecological Society of America (ESA), and federal partners at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) today announced the release of Version 3.0 of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC), the official standard for classifying and mapping terrestrial ecosystems across the United States. This version includes major updates to U.S. ecosystem types and aligns the classification with global standards, providing critical support for natural resources management and biodiversity conservation.  

The USNVC is an ecologically grounded framework for classifying the nation’s terrestrial vegetation in an eight-level hierarchy from global biomes to local plant communities. Built on the international EcoVeg Approach, the classification shares the same structure as the Canadian National Vegetation Classification (CNVC) and NatureServe’s International Vegetation Classification and is also aligned with the Global Ecosystem Typology, ensuring that U.S. ecosystem data can be integrated seamlessly into international assessments.  

“This publication represents the sustained and coordinated effort of state, federal, academic, and conservation ecologists working together to deliver an authoritative and comprehensive synopsis of the nation’s terrestrial ecosystems,” said Don Faber-Langendoen, Senior Ecologist & Conservation Methods Coordinator at NatureServe and Editor-in-Chief of the USNVC.

Keep reading: https://www.natureserve.org/news-releases/united-states-updates-national-standard-ecosystem-classification

Explore the updated classification: https://usnvc.org/

Learn more with the USNVC StoryMap: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/d1c549d9cfad4f1ba77c807129e67532