Due to global climate change and increased forest transformation by humans, accounting for the dynamics of forest ecosystems is becoming a central problem in forestry. We reviewed the success of considering vegetation dynamics in the most influential ecological forest classifications in Russia, the European Union, and North America. Out of the variety of approaches to forest classification, only those that are widely used in forestry and forest inventory were selected. It was found that the system of diagnostic signs developed by genetic forest typology based on the time-stable characteristics of habitats as well as the developed concept of dynamic series of cenosis formation allows us to successfully take into account the dynamics of vegetation. While forest dynamics in European classifications is assessed at a theoretical level, it is also possible to assess forest dynamics in practice due to information obtained from EUNIS habitat classification. In ecological classifications in North America, the problem of vegetation dynamics is most fully solved with ecological site description (ESD), which includes potential vegetation and disturbance factors in the classification features. In habitat type classification (HTC) and biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification (BEC), vegetation dynamics is accounted based on testing the diagnostic species and other signs of potential vegetation for resistance to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Understanding of vegetation–environment associations is fundamental in forming proper forest management methods and improving existing classification structures. We believe that this topic is relevant as part of the ongoing search for new solutions within all significant forest ecological classifications.

Environmental classifications are of paramount importance for assessing the impacts of land-use changes, for prioritizing conservation efforts, and for developing effective management strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of human activities. The aim of our research was to provide as complete an analysis as possible of the studies that have been carried out using the Braun-Blanquet approach. The global review of studies based on the Braun-Blanquet approach includes 1168 papers and was conducted using the PRISMA 2009 methodological recommendations, strict criteria for the selection/quality of papers, and modern methods of data analysis and visualization using VOSviewer software developed by Nees Jan van Eck and Ludo Waltman (Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) of Leiden University in the Netherlands) (version 1.6.18), which ensures a representative sample, minimization of subjective judgements, and reliability of conclusions. It was noted that the number of publications on Braun-Blanquet is growing exponentially. This is an indication of the scientific interest in this methodology and its continuous further development. Based on a detailed analysis of the keywords, the main research directions and challenges are identified. These include improving the conceptual and methodological foundations of the Braun-Blanquet approach; improvement in regional vegetation classifications, synthesizing them and producing a comprehensive classification for large areas as a basis for biodiversity conservation and sustainable land use; expansion of the geography; compilation and updating of databases of phytosociological data; management of dynamics and vegetation; discussion of the important problem of continuity and discreteness of vegetation in the context of ecological classifications; and vegetation mapping. The top 20 journals publishing the most cited articles were identified, as well as the top 20 most cited journals whose high citation rate is due to the large number of high-quality articles. The analysis of the bibliographic network of papers in dynamics has shown that the structure of relationships is not constant and has changed significantly. The analysis of the authors’ publication activity showed that the vast majority of researchers have a low publication activity and have published only one to three papers. A peculiarity also emerges: if all the most cited authors are concentrated in Eurasia, then most of the most actively published authors are outside Eurasia. The importance of the Braun-Blanquet approach for the study and classification of forest vegetation should be emphasized. In this case, the Braun-Blanquet approach is integrated into forest typologies, increasing their ecological validity and environmental relevance.

The ecological indicator values are the most common and sufficiently effective method of habitat assessment. The aim of our research review is to analyze current studies from 2020 to 2022 in which researchers have used Ellenberg indicator values to address a variety of problems. We limited the study to papers that are published in journals indexed by Scopus and Web of Science. The total number of records examined was 358. The number of records selected was 98. Visualization of the distribution of studies by country is based on the GeoCharts library. The results revealed that about half of the studies were conducted in Germany and Poland, and the most common objects were forests and grasslands. Almost half of the studies were devoted to ecological niches, habitat analysis, assessment of vegetation dynamics, and influence of various factors on plants. The analyzed articles are actively cited. In general, our research analysis revealed the effectiveness of Ellenberg indicator values for solving a wide range of urgent problems for a variety of plant communities, and different climate zones. The results of our research confirmed the advisability of actively using this approach.

The conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability is essential for human well-being. An important tool for addressing this issue is ecological indicators. This overview document examines recent studies covering the period 2018–2022 that use the values of the Landolt indicator as one of the analysis methods. The total number of records examined was 8910. After excluding irrelevant, inconsistent and duplicate records, 91 records were selected. The selection criteria were the presence of the English abstract and a digital object identifier (DOI). We chose the VOSviewer software for data analysis and visualization. The analysis of research geography, types of plant communities under research, research topics, the network of co-authorship and relationship papers, as well as the publication activity and citation rate of the authors, is carried out. The results revealed that the geography of using Landolt indicator values is quite wide, while they are more often used in Switzerland, Italy and Russia. The most important and frequently cited studies were carried out in the context of large international projects, confirming the importance of scientific cooperation in the development of environmental indicators. The Landolt indicator values showed effectiveness in the study of forests, bogs, riparian vegetation, a coarse quarry waste dump, and in assessing the urban environment. At the same time, the vegetation dynamics and influence of various factors on plants were studied most often. It was revealed that Landolt indicator values can serve as an effective universal method that integrates many aspects of the environment and allows for a comprehensive multicriteria analysis of environmental factors, habitat stability, vegetation diversity and dynamics for different plant communities at different spatial scales over a wide geographical area. This is confirmed by the high citation rate of the papers. We recommend the Landolt indicator values for a wider use, including in the monitoring of ecosystems and individual species for their conservation and sustainable management. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to extend the network of relationships between the authors, which is not very well developed at the moment. The research results obtained are useful for the further successful development not only of the Landolt indicator values but also of environmental indicators in general.

Influence of soil moisture regime on the species diversity and biomass of the herb layer of pine forests in the Ural Mountains