Explore Natural Communities

Audio recordings about natural plant communities and their notable species in the eastern US.

Plants and animals are key building blocks of natural communities. However they face many ecological threats. That's why natural resource managers and volunteers are collaborating to protect plants and animals and preserve the ecosystems they live in.

The Basic Mesic Hardwood Forest is one of the most species-diverse natural communities in Rock Creek Park. A profusion of wildflowers and ferns on the forest floor make this forest stand out in spring. Look for it in deep, shaded, moist ravines, or on cool, groundwater-fed lower slopes whose concave shape tends to collect deep, moist soils.

Ecologists recognize eight distinct natural communities that you can find along the trails at Rock Creek Park—some in the hills, some in the valleys. What parts of the landscape does each inhabit, and why?

This natural community at Rock Creek Park is easy to spot because of the abundance of chestnut oak and near absence of American beech. You’ll find the Chestnut Oak / Mountain Laurel Forest on or near ridgetops and hilltops where the soil is dry, acidic, and infertile.

You’ll come across this natural community in the parts of Rock Creek Park that are in the Coastal Plain, usually in areas that were cleared during the Civil War era. Willow oak, southern red oak, and white oak form the canopy of the Coastal Plain Oak Forest, and vines (native and non-native) are common in the understory.