Vegetation description criterion | I-Qualitative description | |||||||
Intact | Degraded | Highly degraded | Deforested | |||||
Vegetation type | Mixture of at least three layers (top, middle and bottom) | Mixture of at least two layers | Mixed vegetation with an open canopy, large trees are rare | Few or no trees, vegetation dominated by grasses and shrubs | ||||
Canopy closure | Dense and continuous with little or no sunlight penetration | Dense but interrupted with low sunlight penetration | Very open with sunlight penetration but shaded areas present | Very open with full sunlight penetration | ||||
Under growth vegetation density in terms of woody perennials, trees, shrubs, etc. | Very low, very free passage | Intermediate free passage | High, no free movements | Very high (vegetation composed of thick bushes and areas of bare earth) | ||||
Indicators (proportion of tree growth stages) | Weak presence of seedlings and saplings | Average presence of seedlings and saplings | High presence of seedlings, saplings and posts | High presence of grasses, shrubs and stunted vegetation | ||||
Forest soil moisture and litter humidity | High relative humidity and very moist litter | Moderate humidity at times, not very wet litter | Low humidity and dry litter | Very low humidity and very dry litter that burns easily | ||||
II- Quantitative criteria (REDD + criteria) | ||||||||
Surface (ha) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
% maximum big trees retained | 70 - 100 | 50 | 10 | 0 | ||||
Canopy height (m) | ≥5 | ≥5 | ≥5 | 0 | ||||
Canopy closure (%) | ≥30 | <30 | <10 | 0 | ||||