Features represent element occurrences of significant natural communities (ecological communities), as recorded in the New York Natural Heritage Program's Biodiversity Database (Biotics). An element occurrence is one natural community type at one location. Examples of community types include deep emergent marsh, red maple-hardwood swamp, dwarf shrub bog, hemlock-northern hardwood forest, and tidal creek. Natural community occurrences in this dataset are considered significant from a statewide perspective. NY Natural Heritage documents all occurrences of community types that are rare in New York State. For more common community types, NY Natural Heritage documents occurrences where the community at that location is ranked as being of excellent or good quality, by meeting specific, documented criteria for size, undisturbed and intact condition, and quality of the surrounding landscape. A natural community is an assemblage of interacting plant and animal populations that share a common environment; the particular assemblage of plant and animal species occurs across the landscape in areas with similar environmental conditions. Significant natural communities are rare or high-quality wetlands, forests, grasslands, ponds, streams, and other types of habitats, ecosystems, and natural areas. NY Natural Heritage tracks locations of significant natural communities because they serve as habitat for a wide range of plants and animals, both rare and common; and because community occurrences in good condition support intact ecological processes and provide ecological value and services.
For layer information or to download layer, see Natural Heritage Communities
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