Natural Communities of North Carolina

A natural community is a distinct collection of plants and animals (and fungi and bacteria) associated with each other and with their physical environment. North Carolina harbors over 300 unique natural communities, which can be grouped into about 30 categories (listed below).

 

Natural communities consist of both biotic (living: plants and animals) and abiotic (non-living: soil and water) factors. Plants tend to locate where their needs for soil, water, and space are met. Animals follow similar needs, which include safety and a reliable food supply. The combination of these biotic and abiotic factors makes each of North Carolina’s natural communities unique. 

 

Each natural community is most likely to be found in its preferred ecoregion – mountains, piedmont, or coastal plain – and its preferred circumstances – high and dry, low and moist, or a combination. It is North Carolina’s varied topography (sea level to tallest mountain on the east coast), soil (sand to clay to rock), and moisture (rivers, ocean, and rainfall) that allow for the rich biodiversity we enjoy.

 

Once you become familiar with a few of North Carolina’s natural communities you will notice them around your neighborhood and across the state.  Some are familiar faces in many parts of eastern North America’s Temperate Deciduous Forest biome, while many can be found only in North Carolina. They are home to our native species and the building blocks of whole ecosystems that cycle nutrients and clean the water and air.  Different natural communities can be found close together in the same landscape like distinct neighborhoods within a city. 

 

  Spruce-Fir Forests 

  Grass and Heath Balds

  Northern Hardwood Forests 

  Mountain Cove Forests 

  Piedmont and Coastal Plain Mesic Forests

  Mountain Dry Coniferous Woodlands

  Mountain Oak Forests

  Piedmont and Coastal Plain Oak Forests 

  High Elevation Rock Outcrops 

  Low Elevation Cliffs and Rock Outcrops

  Coastal Plain Marl Outcrop

  Granitic Flatrocks

  Piedmont and Mountain Glades and Barrens 

  Maritime Grasslands

  Maritime Upland Forests 

  Dry Longleaf Pine Communities

  Brownwater Coastal Plain Floodplains

  Blackwater Coastal Plain Floodplains

  Piedmont and Mountain Floodplains

  Riverine Aquatic Communities

  Mountain Bogs and Fens

  Upland Seepages and Spray Cliffs 

  Piedmont and Mountain Upland Pools and Depressions

  Coastal Plain Nonalluvial Wetland Forests

  Pocosins - Peatland and Streamhead

  Wet Pine Savannas

  Coastal Plain Depression Communities 

  Natural Lake Communities 

  Maritime Wetlands

  Freshwater Tidal Wetlands

  Estuarine Communities