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 Subcalcareous Cliff and Rock Outcrop include these:
- Microclimates (Ecobit: How Topography Creates Microclimates)
- Processes that lead to soil formation (Ecobit: Soil Processes—Creating a Place to take Root)
- Steep slope processes (Ecobit: Erosion and Sediment Transport—Earth in Motion)
In the Broader Landscape
The natural processes above are also important in some other natural communities. For example, in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, two natural communities (see chart below) occur on steep, rocky sites with soil that is less acidic than other areas in Harpers Ferry.
These two natural communities can be grouped into a larger unit that ecologists refer to as the Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Ecological System in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. An ecological system is a group of several natural communities that share many of the same natural processes and features of physical setting. They also share many of the same plant and animal species. For example, these two natural communities both contain northern spicebush, marginal woodfern, zigzag goldenrod, and pale jewelweed.