Wisconsin's natural communities

A community is an assemblage of different plant and animal species, living together in a particular area, at a particular time, in a specific habitat. Communities may be named for their dominant plant species, for example, pine barrens, sedge meadows and oak savannas, a prominent environmental feature - Great Lakes Dune, Dry Cliff - or some combination of these factors. Communities range in size from less than an acre to thousands of acres. Communities are dynamic and always changing. Some change may be rapid while other change is too slow for many humans to notice during their brief lifetimes.

The Natural Heritage Inventory tracks examples of all types of Wisconsin's natural communities that are deemed significant because of their undisturbed condition, size, what occurs around them or for other reasons. These pages provide descriptions, general locations and other information for Wisconsin's natural communities. The communities are presented in aggregated groups.

Community Name	Global Rank	State Rank	Community Group
Alder Thicket	G4	S4	Wetland
Algific Talus Slope	G2	S1	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Alvar	G3	S1	Bare Soil and Bedrock
American Lotus-lily Marsh	G3G4	S3	Wetland
Aspen-Birch			Northern Forests
Bedrock Glade	G2	S3	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Bedrock Shore	G3G4	S2	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Black Spruce Swamp	G5	S3?	Northern Forests
Bog Relict	G3	S3	Wetland
Boreal Forest	G3?	S2	Northern Forests
Boreal Rich Fen	G4G5	S2	Wetland
Bracken Grassland	G3	S2	Barrens and Savannas
Calcareous Fen	G3	S3	Wetland
Cave	GNR	SU	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Central Poor Fen	G3G4	S3	Wetland
Central Sands Pine-Oak Forest	G3	S3	Southern Forests
Clay Seepage Bluff	GNR	S2	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Coastal Plain Marsh	G2?	S1	Wetland
Coldwater streams			Aquatic
Conifer Plantation			Northern Forests
Coolwater streams			Aquatic
Dry Cliff	G4G5	S4	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Dry Prairie	G3	S3	Prairies
Dry-mesic Prairie	G3	S2	Prairies
Eastern Red-cedar Thicket	GNR	S4	Barrens and Savannas
Emergent Marsh	G4	S4	Wetland
Floating-leaved Marsh	G4G5	S4	Wetland
Floodplain Forest	G3?	S3	Southern Forests
Forested Seep	GNR	S2	Northern Forests
Glaciere Talus (Felsenmeer)	G2G3	S2	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Great Lakes Alkaline Rockshore	G3	S2	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Great Lakes Barrens	G2	S1	Barrens and Savannas
Great Lakes Beach	G3	S2	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Great Lakes Dune	G3	S2	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Great Lakes Ridge and Swale	G3	S2	Wetland
Great Lakes Shore Fen	GNR	S2	Wetland
Hemlock Relict	G2Q	S2	Southern Forests
Inland Beach	G4G5	S3	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Inland lakes (group)			Aquatic
Interdunal Wetland	G2?	S1	Wetland
Lacustrine Mud Flat	GNR	SU	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Lake Michigan			Aquatic
Lake Superior			Aquatic
Lake--Deep, Hard, Drainage	GNR	S3	Aquatic
Lake--Deep, Hard, Seepage	GNR	S2	Aquatic
Lake--Deep, Soft, Drainage	GNR	S1	Aquatic
Lake--Large, Deep, Soft - Very Soft, Seepage			Aquatic
Lake--Large, Shallow, Hard - Very Hard (marl), Drainage			Aquatic
Lake--Shallow, Hard, Seepage	GNR	SU	Aquatic
Lake--Shallow, Soft, Drainage	GNR	S3	Aquatic
Lake--Shallow, Soft, Seepage	GNR	S4	Aquatic
Lake--Hard Bog	GNR	S2	Aquatic
Lake--Meromictic	GNR	S1	Aquatic
Lake--Unique	GNR	SU	Aquatic
Lake--Soft Bog	GNR	S4	Aquatic
Mesic Cedar Forest	G3?	S1	Northern Forests
Mesic Floodplain Terrace	GNR	S2	Northern Forests
Mesic Prairie	G2	S1	Prairies
Moist Cliff	GNR	S4	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Moist Sandy Meadow	GNR	SU	Wetland
Muskeg	G4G5	S4	Wetland
Northern Dry Forest	G3?	S3	Northern Forests
Northern Dry-mesic Forest	G4	S3	Northern Forests
Northern Hardwood Swamp	G4	S3	Northern Forests
Northern Mesic Forest	G4	S4	Northern Forests
Northern Sedge Meadow	G4	S3	Wetland
Northern Tamarack Swamp	G4	S3	Northern Forests
Northern Wet Forest	G4	S4	Northern Forests
Northern Wet-mesic Forest	G3?	S3S4	Northern Forests
Oak Barrens	G2?	S2	Barrens and Savannas
Oak Opening	G1	S1	Barrens and Savannas
Oak Woodland	GNR	S1?	Barrens and Savannas
Oligotrophic Marsh	GNR	S3	Wetland
Open Bog	G5	S4	Wetland
Patterned Peatland	GNR	S1	Wetland
Pine Barrens	G2	S2	Barrens and Savannas
Pine Relict	G4	S2	Southern Forests
Poor Fen	G3G4	S3	Wetland
Riverine Impoundment - Reservoirs			Aquatic
Riverine Lake - Pond	GNR	SU	Aquatic
Riverine Mud Flat	GNR	SU	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Sand Barrens	GNR	SU	Barrens and Savannas
Sand Prairie	GNR	S2	Prairies
Shrub-carr	G5	S4	Wetland
Southern Dry Forest	G4	S3	Southern Forests
Southern Dry-mesic Forest	G4	S3	Southern Forests
Southern Hardwood Swamp	G4?	S2	Southern Forests
Southern Mesic Forest	G3?	S3	Southern Forests
Southern Sedge Meadow	G4?	S3	Wetland
Southern Tamarack Swamp	G3	S3	Southern Forests
Spring Pond, Lake--Spring			Aquatic
Springs and Spring Runs, Hard	GNR	S4	Aquatic
Springs and Spring Runs, Soft	GNR	SU	Aquatic
Submergent Marsh	G5	S4	Wetland
Surrogate Grasslands			Anthropogenic Habitats
Talus Forest	G4G5	S1	Bare Soil and Bedrock
Transportation-Utility Corridor			Anthropogenic Habitats
Warmwater rivers			Aquatic
Warmwater streams			Aquatic
Wet Prairie	G3	SU	Prairies
Wet-mesic Prairie	G2	S2	Prairies
White Pine-Red Maple Swamp	G3G4	S2	Southern Forests
Wild Rice Marsh	G3G4	S3	Wetland