Terrestrial, Palustrine, and Estuarine Community Types

Formal and technical descriptions of the community types in the Classification of Natural Communities of Massachusetts, Version 2.0.

Terrestrial communities occur in upland on predominantly well-drained soils. Palustrine communities are wetland communities where there is flooding or saturated soil conditions. Estuarine communities are tidal wetlands with fresh to salt water.

Community types

Terrestrial	Palustrine	Estuarine
Acidic Rock Cliff Community	Acidic Graminoid Fen	Brackish Tidal Marsh
Acidic Rocky Summit/Rock Outcrop Community	Acidic Graminoid Fen - Spillway Fen	Coastal Salt Pond Community
Black Oak - Scarlet Oak Woodland	Acidic Pondshore/Lakeshore Community	Fresh/Brackish Tidal Shrubland
Calcareous Rock Cliff Community	Acidic Shrub Fen	Fresh/Brackish Tidal Swamp
Calcareous Rocky Summit/Rock Outcrop Community	Alluvial Atlantic White Cedar Swamp	Freshwater Tidal Marsh
Chestnut Oak Forest/Woodland	Alluvial Hardwood Flat Community	Marine Intertidal Gravel/Sand Beach Community
Circumneutral Rock Cliff Community	Alluvial Red Maple Swamp	Marine Intertidal Rocky Shore Community
Circumneutral Rocky Summit/Rock Outcrop Community	Atlantic White Cedar Bog	Salt Marsh
Coastal Forest/Woodland	Black Gum - Pin Oak - Swamp White Oak Perched Swamp	Seagrass Community
Cultural Grassland	Calcareous Basin Fen
Dry, Rich Oak Forest/Woodland	Calcareous Pondshore/Lakeshore Community
Forest Seep Community	Calcareous Seepage Marsh
Hemlock Forest	Calcareous Sloping Fen
Hickory - Hop Hornbeam Forest/Woodland	Coastal Atlantic White Cedar Swamp
High Elevation Spruce - Fir Forest/Woodland	Coastal Plain Pondshore Community
Maritime Beach Strand Community	Coastal Plain Pondshore Community - Inland Variant
Maritime Dune Community	Cobble Bar Forest
Maritime Erosional Cliff Community	Deep Emergent Marsh
Maritime Forest/Woodland	Freshwater Mud Flat Community
Maritime Juniper Woodland/Shrubland	Hemlock Swamp
Maritime Pitch Pine Woodland on Dunes	Highbush Blueberry Thicket
Maritime Rock Cliff Community	High-energy Riverbank Community
Maritime Shrubland	High-energy Rivershore Meadow
Mixed Oak Forest/Woodland	High-terrace Floodplain Forest
Northern Hardwoods - Hemlock - White Pine Forest	Inland Atlantic White Cedar Swamp
Oak - Hemlock - White Pine Forest	Interdunal Marsh/Swale
Oak - Hickory Forest	Kettlehole Level Bog
Oak - Tulip Tree Forest	Kettlehole Wet Meadow
Open Oak Forest/Woodland	Level Bog
Open Talus/Coarse Boulder Community	Low-energy Riverbank Community
Pitch Pine - Oak Forest/Woodland	Major-river Floodplain Forest
Pitch Pine - Scrub Oak Community	Northern Atlantic White Cedar Swamp
Red Oak - Sugar Maple Transition Forest	Red Maple - Black Ash - Bur Oak Swamp
Rich, Mesic Forest	Red Maple - Black Ash - Tamarack Calcareous Seepage Swamp
Ridgetop Heathland	Red Maple - Black Ash Swamp
Ridgetop Pitch Pine - Scrub Oak Community	Red Maple - Black Gum Swamp
Riverside Rock Outcrop Community	Red Maple Swamp
Sandplain Grassland	Red Spruce Swamp
Sandplain Grassland - Inland Variant	Rich Conifer Swamp
Sandplain Heathland	River and Lake Drawdown Community
Sandplain Heathland - Inland Variant	Riverine Pointbar and Beach Community
Scrub Oak Shrubland	Riverside Seep Community
Spruce - Fir - Northern Hardwoods Forest	Sea-level Fen
Successional Northern Hardwood Forest	Shallow Emergent Marsh
Successional White Pine Forest	Shrub Swamp
Sugar Maple - Oak - Hickory Forest	Small-river Floodplain Forest
White Pine - Oak Forest	Spruce - Tamarack Bog
Yellow Oak Dry Calcareous Forest	Transitional Floodplain Forest
	Wet Meadow