INPN — reference framework for habitat typologies, environments and vegetation (HABREF)

**HABREF** is a national repository bringing together the official reference versions of habitat or vegetation typologies covering the marine and/or continental environments of the French metropolitan and overseas territories. Account shall be taken of national typologies or relating to an overseas territory and international typologies, when they concern France. The units presented in these typologies are either habitat types or vegetation types. **Habitat:** refers to a particular environment that can be distinguished by its abiotic factors and biological characteristics, operating on specific but dynamic spatial and temporal scales, in a recognizable geographical space (according to Yapp’s ideas, 1922). **Vegetation:** structured together (in formation, grouping...) of plants present in a territory, whatever its extent and stationary characteristics (Géhu, 2006). Vegetation is one of the components of a (vegetated) habitat. In more detail, two broad categories of “typologies” (sensu lato) can be distinguished: — habitat and vegetation typologies (sensu stricto) — lists of habitats resulting from guidelines or international conventions The first is characterised by a hierarchical classification of the units and all the known units of the territory concerned appear in the typology. For example, the classification of metropolitan benthic marine habitats, EUNIS habitats or phytosociological classification units. The second consists of lists of habitats to be preserved under international guidelines or conventions. Therefore, not all habitats in the territory concerned are included. For convenience, listed habitats are generally grouped into large types of habitats, but these are not used as such. The following are covered: the Habitats Directive and the Barcelona Convention [More information](https://inpn.mnhn.fr/programme/referentiel-habitats)