Plants that grow side by side under similar conditions of soil, moisture and temperature form a plant community. Natural communities include forest, meadow, swamp, lake, river, steppe and desert plants; nature itself made them. Artificial communities are created by people: orchards, fields, home gardens, parks and canal banks. Plants in a community grow in layers: tall trees on top, shrubs below them, then herbs and moss near the ground. They sometimes compete for light and sometimes help each other: tall trees, for example, shield shade-loving low plants from too much sun. Animals, fungi and bacteria also depend on a community.
Worked examples
Natural community: a juniper woodland on a mountain slope. Artificial community: a cotton or wheat field.
The Chorvoq reservoir was built by people, yet plants have grown around it and it now looks like a natural lake.
Class activity
“Layers” game: the class splits into four groups: tree, shrub, herb and moss. Each names an example from its layer and lines up from tallest to lowest.
Practice
1
What is a plant community?
A set of plants that grow together under similar conditions.
2
Sort into natural and artificial communities: steppe, orchard, swamp, boulevard.