Kurri sand swamp woodland of the Sydney Basin bioregion is the assemblage of plants, animals and other organisms associated with a type of dry sclerophyll woodland, occasionally heathland, generally with a low open canopy and shrubby understorey. It is typically restricted to deep and loose low-nutrient sandy soils in the Cessnock and Kurri districts in the lower Hunter valley. Where a eucalypt canopy layer is evident, Angophora bakeri, Eucalyptus parramattensis subsp. decadens and/or Eucalyptu ssp. aff. agglomerata are the typical dominant to co-dominant tree species. Other eucalypts, for example Eucalyptus fibrosa, may also be present and be locally dominant, but not as dominant canopy species throughout a patch. In areas where the eucalypt canopy is sparse, Melaleuca nodosa can dominate the mid to upper layers. The mid-stratum, where present, is typically characterised by a mid-dense to dense shrub layer of sclerophyllous species, commonly Acacia elongata, Acacia longifolia, Banksia collina, Bossiaea spp., Callistemon linearis, Dillwynia retorta, Hakea sericea, Isopogon anemonifolius, Lambertia formosa, Leptospermum spp., Leucopogon virgatus, Melaleuca nodosa, Melaleuca thymifolia, Monotoca scoparia and Xanthorrhoea glauca. The ground stratum is typically a patchy sparse to mid-dense cover of low shrubs and/or grasses, sedges, and forbs, including Anisopogon avenaceus, Aristida spp., Entolasia stricta, and Lomandra spp.
In order to be protected as a matter of national significance under Commonwealth legislation, occurences of the ecological community must meet several criteria in the Conservation Advice. Both key diagnostic criteria and condition thresholds must be satisfied. The latter relate to the size of the patch and the vegetation cover present.
Distribution
Kurri sand swamp woodland is limited to the Sydney Basin bioregion (IBRA version 7).The main occurrences are mostly in the Hunter subregion, around Cessnock and Kurri Kurri, with a small area of the ecological community extending into the north east part of the adjacent Wyong subregion, between Richmond Vale and Mulbring.
Habitat and ecology
- The ecological community is typically restricted to deep and loose low-nutrient sandy soils that grade into low-lying poorly draining clays up to 130 metres above sea level.
- Two structural forms of the ecological community are recognised. The heathy woodland/heathland form generally occurs on soils that are sandy, loose and free draining. The shrubby woodland form typically occurs in areas where the substrate has a higher clay content and may be damper. The main occurrences for this form occur on lower elevation landscapes below 110 metres above sea level.
Regional distribution and habitat
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