- Natural Community Overview
- Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Communities
- Floodplain Forest Communities
- Salt Marsh Communities
- Mineral-enriched Swamp Communities
- Nutrient-poor Basin Swamp Communities
- Rich and Semi-rich Mesic Forest Communities
- Sandy Pond Shore Communities
The fact sheets listed above were developed for relatively broad categories, and usually include several closely related natural community types. They were created in 2002, following the version of the classification that existed at that time. Each fact sheet has a list of the natural communities covered, and detailed descriptions are available in the following publications:
current classification:previous classifications:
- A Classification of Wetland Natural Communities in New Hampshire
- Open Riparian Communities and Riparian Complexes in New Hampshire
In general, community classification is a dynamic process that includes frequent updates. Changes reflect our improved understanding of natural communities, and include splitting broadly defined groups into separate types as well as new naming conventions. Many natural community records in the NH Natural Heritage database were originally identified based on a 1987 classification by Rawinski, rather than the more recent classification used in the fact sheets (all have since been crosswalked to the new classification). Most of the older natural community names can be readily matched to the major categories used for the fact sheets. If questions arise about specific natural community examples, please consult the reports listed above, or call NH Natural Heritage at (603) 271-2214.