Lowland Grassy Woodland in the South East Corner | |
---|---|
Ecology | |
Realm | Australasia |
Biome | Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands |
Borders | |
Geography | |
Area | 0.1 km2 (0.039 sq mi) |
Country | Australia |
Elevation | 10–500 metres (33–1,640 ft) |
Coordinates | 35°12′S150°26′E / 35.2°S 150.43°E |
Climate type | Oceanic climate (Cfb) |
Soil types | Clay |
The Lowland Grassy Woodland, or the Illawarra and South Coast Lowland Grassy Woodland is a grassland-savannah community mostly found in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Stretching from the southern parts of the Illawarra in the north to the South East Corner in the south, it is an endangered ecological community that lies in a rain shadow area. [1]
The community lies in an area that receives less rainfall than the elevated terrain that partly encircle them, with mean annual rainfall generally in the range of 700 to 1,100 mm (28 to 43 in). The community sits on granitic substrates (e.g. adamellites, granites, granodiorites, gabbros, etc.) but may also be found on locally precipitous sites and on acid volcanic, alluvial and fine-grained sedimentary substrates. They generally consist of an open tree canopy, a near-uninterrupted groundcover dominated by grasses and herbs, sometimes with stratums of shrubs and/or small trees. The bioregion incorporates: Bega Dry Grass Forest and Candelo Dry Grass Forest. [1]
The ecoregion is found in the Bega Valley, Eurobodalla and Palerang Local Government Areas, with major presence to the west of Batemans Bay, close to Moruya, in the Araluen valley, Cobargo, Candelo, the Towamba Valley and near Tanja. The remaining environment of the community is gravely fragmented, with more than 95% of surviving patches estimated to be less than 10 ha. [2]
The grassy woodland is dominated by Eucalyptus tereticornis, Eucalyptus globoidea, Angophora floribunda, Eucalyptus melliodora, Eucalyptus pauciflora, Eucalyptus baueriana, Eucalyptus bosistoana, Eucalyptus maidenii and Eucalyptus viminalis. The understorey frequently features small trees like, Acacia mearnsii, Acacia implexa, Exocarpos cupressiformis and a shrub layer that features, Bursaria spinosa, Cassinia spp. and Ozothamnus diosmifolius.
The groundcover features, Themeda australis, Microlaena stipoides and Eragrostis leptostachya, in addition to forbs such as Dichondra repens, Desmodium varians, Hydrocotyle laxiflora, Hypericum gramineum, Glycine clandestina and Cheilanthes sieberi. [3]
Inhabitants of the grassy woodlands include Macropus robustus, Macropus parma, Thylogale thetis, Bettongia gaimardi, Dasyurus viverrinus and Phascogale tapoatafa. [1]
The Illawarra is a coastal region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour and the coastal town of Kiama. Wollongong is the largest city of the Illawarra with a population of 240,000, then Shellharbour with a population of 70,000 and Kiama with a population of 10,000. These three cities have their own suburbs. Wollongong stretches from Otford in the north to Windang in the south, with Maddens Plains and Cordeaux in the west.
The Avon Wheatbelt is a bioregion in Western Australia. It has an area of 9,517,104 hectares. It is considered part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion.
The Eastern Australian temperate forests is a broad ecoregion of open forest on uplands starting from the east coast of New South Wales in the South Coast to southern Queensland, Australia. Although dry sclerophyll and wet sclerophyll eucalyptus forests predominate within this ecoregion, a number of distinguishable rainforest communities are present as well.
The Yathong Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve that is also a nationally and internationally recognized biosphere situated in the central-western region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 107,240-hectare (265,000-acre) reserve was listed by UNESCO in 1977 as a Biosphere Reserve under the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB). The reserve is significant for its biodiversity in both native plant and animal species. Cultural heritage and historical grazing activities add to the significance of this site as a conservation area.
The Southern Sydney sheltered forest, or the Sydney Sandstone Gully Forest (SSGF), is a vegetation community found in Sydney, Australia that comprises an open forest composition grading into woodland or scrub, typically within gullies. The community is normally associated with sheltered heads and upper inclines of gullies on transitional zones where sandstone outcropping may be present.
Western Sydney Regional Park is a large urban park and a nature reserve situated in Western Sydney, Australia within the suburbs of Horsley Park and Abbotsbury. A precinct of Western Sydney Parklands, a park system, and situated within the heart of the Cumberland Plain Woodland, the regional park features several picnic areas, recreational facilities, equestrian trails, and walking paths within the Australian bush.
The Queanbeyan Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve that is located in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 67-hectare (170-acre) reserve is situated approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west-south-west of the City of Queanbeyan.
The Cumberland Plain Woodland, also known as Cumberland Plain Bushland and Western Sydney woodland, is a grassy woodland community found predominantly in Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that comprises an open tree canopy, a groundcover with grasses and herbs, usually with layers of shrubs and/or small trees.
The ecology of Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia, is diverse for its size, where it would mainly feature biomes such as grassy woodlands or savannas and some sclerophyll forests, with some pockets of mallee shrublands, riparian forests, heathlands, and wetlands, in addition to small temperate and subtropical rainforest fragments.
The Gippsland Plains Grassy Woodland is an ecological temperate grassland community located in the Gippsland region in southern Victoria, Australia. Stretching from Bairnsdale in the east to the eastern portion of Melbourne in the west, they typify one of Victoria's most threatened and disconnected indigenous ecosystems. The Gippsland Red Gum Grassy Woodland is the most prominent community in the system situated in the centre.
The Iron-grass Natural Temperate Grassland of South Australia is a temperate grassland in the southeast of South Australia that stretches from Orroroo in the north, to Strathalbyn in the south, just straddling the eastern fringes of Adelaide's Mount Lofty Ranges. Listed as Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act, the grasslands predominantly feature Iron-grasses.
The New England Peppermint Grassy Woodland is a grassy-woodland community primarily situated in the New England and Northern Tablelands regions in northern New South Wales, Australia. Named after the Eucalyptus nova-anglica, it is listed as a critically endangered ecological communities (TECs) under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The Southern Highlands Shale Forest and Woodland is a mixed grassy woodland and sclerophyll-temperate forest community situated within the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia. An ecotone featuring clay soils derived from Wianamatta Group, it is listed as an endangered ecological community by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 as less than 5% of the original extent remains today. Three varieties of the Shale Woodland exist: ‘typical’, ‘tall wet’ and ‘short dry’.
The Shale Sandstone Transition Forest, also known as Cumberland Shale-Sandstone Ironbark Forest, is a transitory ecotone between the grassy woodlands of the Cumberland Plain Woodlands and the dry sclerophyll forests of the sandstone plateaus on the edges of the Cumberland Plain in Sydney, Australia.
The Castlereagh Scribbly Gum and Agnes Banks Woodlands is an endangered sclerophyll low-woodland and shrubland community found in western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Vegetation comprises low woodlands with sclerophyllous shrubs and an uneven ground layer of graminoids and forbs.
The Lowland Native Grasslands of Tasmania are a temperate grassland situated in the eastern portion of Tasmania, Australia. Listed as a critically endangered ecological community listed under the national environment law, they are dominated by kangaroo grass, velvet tussock grass and/or silver tussock grass.
The River-flat eucalypt forest or Coastal floodplain eucalypt forest is a critically endangered threatened ecological community that is primarily found in southeastern Australia, from southeastern Queensland, through New South Wales, to eastern Victoria, on alluvial soils of the coastal floodplains. The name chiefly refers to its riparian and floodplain landscape location and the predominant tree canopy being Eucalyptus, Angophora and/or Corymbia, which may exceed 40 m in height.
The Illawarra-Shoalhaven subtropical rainforest, or Illawarra Subtropical Rainforest (ISR), is a scattered rainforest community in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. Occurring just south of Sydney, it spans from the Royal National Park (north of Wollongong) to the Milton-Ulladulla district in the south, albeit in scattered fragments.