The vertical stratification of a community is determined largely by the life forms of plants their size , branching and leaves which is influenced by the vertical gradient of light. Vertical classification of vegetation in a forest showing the tree, shrub and herb layers and the forest floor. This can be seen from the different heights different plants grow to reach and the stratazones they form in their respective niches.
In ecology, stratification refers to the vertical layering of a habitat; the arrangement of vegetation in layers.[1][2] It classifies the layers (sing. stratum, pl. strata) of vegetation largely according to the different heights to which their plants grow. The individual layers are inhabited by different animal[3] and plant communities (stratozones).