Nature conservation

Threatened species

North Coast Dry Sclerophyll Forests

Vegetation class map


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Key:
<1%
1-10%
10-50%
>50%
Estimated percentage landcover for vegetation class

Structure

Open eucalypt forests to 25 m with prominent sclerophyll shrub stratum and open groundcover of grasses and sedges.

Trees

Angophora robur, A. woodsiana, Corymbia gummifera (red bloodwood), C. intermedia (pink bloodwood), Eucalyptus baileyi (Baileys stringbark), E. pilularis (blackbutt), E. planchoniana, E. pyrocarpa (large-fruited blackbutt), Eucalyptus signata (scribbly gum), E. umbra (bastard white mahogany), Syncarpia glomulifera (turpentine).

Shrubs

Banksia oblongifolia, B. spinulosa var. collina (hairpin banksia), Gompholobium pinnatum (pinnate wedge pea), Lambertia formosa (mountain devil), Leptospermum polygalifolium, L. trinervium (flaky-barked teatree), Leucopogon lanceolatus, Persoonia stradbrokensis, P. tenuifolia, Phyllanthus hirtellus, Pimelea linifolia (slender rice flower), Xanthorrhoea latifolia.

Forbs

Dianella caerulea (blue flax lily), Aristida vagans, Entolasia stricta (wiry panic), Imperata cylindrica var. major (blady grass), Lepidosperma laterale.

Habitat

Coastal plains, hills and plateaux with sandy loams derived from high-quartz sandstones of the Moreton geological basin. In moderately high rainfall areas where they may occur at altitudes up to 400 m.

Distribution

Principally between Coffs Harbour and Ballina and inland to the southern part of the Richmond Range. Examples occur in western parts of Bundjalung and Yuraygir national parks between Ballina and Wooli, and on plateaux around Grafton in Sherwood, Banyabba and Mount Neville nature reserves. Similar forests occur around Brisbane in south-east Queensland.

Notes

Close to the coast, these forests share a number of species with the adjacent Coastal Dune Dry Sclerophyll Forests, whereas in the hilly terrain further inland they have a more distinctive flora, including some locally endemic plant species. A large number of plant genera and some species are shared with the Sydney Coastal Dry Sclerophyll Forests, although differences in composition at the species level reflect the geographic isolation of these related groups of communities.

Sources

NPWS (1999)

See all threatened species associated with this vegetation class

See a list of species, populations and ecological communities associated with the North Coast Dry Sclerophyll Forests vegetation class.