Natural Processes
Natural processes shape the land, create soil and topsoil, influence the water supply, and help determine the plants and animals that live in each natural community. Some natural processes act on large scales and affect more than one natural community at a time.
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In This Community
Important natural processes in the Basic Oak – Hickory Forest include these:
In the Broader Landscape
The natural processes above are also important in some other natural communities. For example, in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (NHP), three natural communities (see chart below) have dry-mesic soil (not too moist, not too dry) and mid-slope position.
These natural communities can be grouped into a larger unit that ecologists refer to as the Dry-Mesic Oak Forests Ecological System in Harpers Ferry NHP. An ecological system is a group of several natural communities that share many of the same features of physical setting and many of the same natural processes.
By extension, they may also share many of the same plant and animal species.
For example, all of these three natural communities contain oaks and hickories.
Ecobit: Natural Processes Are Bigger Than Natural Communities