PA Aquatic Resource Restoration Conference 2026: Past, Present and Future

In addition to inventory of the state’s rare plants and animals, a primary focus of the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program has been the classification and description of PA’s plant communities. Understanding the plant communities of a given site is very important in conservation, ecological management, and restoration activities. However, understanding the plant communities often requires a high level of experience in the field – especially understanding how to recognize different plant species and ecological variables. The Pennsylvania Community Prediction Tool for Site Restoration (PPT) was developed by the PNHP to assist restoration practitioners in their efforts to establish native plant communities using species most likely to thrive at the site. Using native plant species and communities in restoration is thought to improve the project’s success and support native wildlife species. The PPT may also be used as an educational tool to teach people about plant communities and the species that make up plant communities. In this session, attendees understand what a plant community is and how plant communities are defined in Pennsylvania, where one can obtain information on plant species and natural plant communities in Pennsylvania, and how the PPT was created and how it is to be used. Attendees will have the opportunity to run the PPT and use the tool to obtain a list of potential plant communities at a site and plant species that will thrive at a site.