Grassland Communities And Habitats

Plants need the basic elements of energy, water and nutrients for growth. These are provided through climate and soils. Plant communities consist of groups of plants that are adapted to similar combinations of climatic conditions and soils. Each different plant community by itself, or with other communities, provides a variety of habitats that are used by animals for food and shelter.

Different combinations of landscape features, elevation, and climatic variation create a number of plant communities and habitats in grassland ecosystems: open grasslands; rocky talus slopes and rock outcrops; riparian areas; wetlands; ponds and lakes; gullies; aspen stands; open coniferous forests; and closed coniferous patches.



Each Grassland Community and Habitat description includes a list of representative species. They are species that rely on the community for all or a large part of their life cycle. The lists do not include every species that uses the community, nor all those that you might see on a visit to that area. There are also links to references and other web sites where you can find out more about species that interest you.

Aspen Stand

Gully

Riparian

Wetland

Open Grassland

Rocky Talus Slopes/Rock Outcrop

Open Coniferous Forest

Closed Coniferous Patch

Riparian

Ponds/Lakes