Vegetation class map
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Key:
<1%
1-10%
10-50%
>50%
Estimated percentage landcover for vegetation class
Structure
Scrub forest dominated by wattles 5-20 m tall with occasional eucalypt emergents. Typically the dense tree canopies allow relatively little light to penetrate to the forest floor. Consequently the understorey comprises a sparse layer of non-sclerophyllous shrubs, minimal groundcover and an abundant litter of leaves and twigs. Lichens are notably common on the tree trunks, shrub branches and fallen wood.
Trees
Acacia silvestris (Bodalla silver wattle) is common throughout. Acacia blayana is found only in the northern stands. Acacia binervia (coast myall) dominates stands near Bombala, while A. doratoxylon (carrawang), A. falciformis (broad-leaved hickory) and A. kettlewelliae occur in the Byadbo district.
Shrubs
Philotheca trachyphylla is common throughout. In northern stands Beyeria lasiocarpa, Cassinia trinerva, Hymenanthera dentata (tree violet) and Pomaderris brogoensis are sporadic, while in the southern stands Dodonaea viscosa subsp. spatulata, Leionema lamprophyllum Olearia iodochroa, O. phlogopappa, Ozothamnus conditus and O. obcordatus occur.
Forbs
Joycea pallida (silvertop wallaby grass), Notodanthonia longifolia (long-leaved wallaby grass).
Habitat
Steep, north- or west-facing rocky slopes and gorges, on metamorphosed mudstones that contains little quartz. On the escarpment foothills, it occurs below 500 m elevation where the annual rainfall varies between 800 and 900 mm; in the drier upland Byadbo region it occurs at altitudes of 700-1100 m, mean annual rainfall may be as low as 600 mm.
Distribution
Small patches within a sea of dry eucalypt forests in three disjunct areas of occurrence: along the coastal escarpment foothills from Buckenbowra to Brogo; in the Byadbo area of the Snowy River gorge, extending down the as far as Deddick in Victoria; and west of Bombala near the confluence of the Snowy, MacLaughlin and Delegate rivers.
Notes
A group of assemblages restricted to small stands, grading locally into eucalypt forests of gorges. Floristic composition varies between the disjunct areas of occurrence. Species richness is low, with only about a dozen different plants found within one tenth of a hectare. Fires kill the dominant trees and thus play an important role in vegetation dynamics.
Sources
Clayton-Greene & Wimbush (1988); Keith & Bedward (1999)
See all threatened species associated with this vegetation class
See a
list of species, populations and ecological communities
associated with the Southern Wattle Dry Sclerophyll Forests vegetation class.