Eastern Australian temperate forests
Encyclopedia
The Eastern Australian temperate forests are an ecoregion
of open forest on uplands behind the east coast of New South Wales
and southern Queensland
, Australia
.
from just south of Sydney
up to central Queensland, and includes the Blue Mountains and the Border Ranges
to the west and north of Sydney
. These are areas of eucalyptus forest on sandstone plateau, with smaller sections of cliffs, steep gorges with rainforest vegetation and sandy heath on the coasts. The climate is warm temperate
(lowland areas have maximum 28 degrees C in summer, minimum 3 degrees in winter).
trees, indeed it was the moisture from these trees which was originally thought to cause the blue mist that gave the mountains their name. A variety of different eucalyptus trees dominate particular areas of this large ecoregion, including: in southern queensland/northern NSW -Tallowwood (Eucalyptus microcorys), Blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis
), Brush Box (Lophostemon confertus
), Flooded Gum (Eucalyptus grandis
), and Gympie messmate (Eucalyptus cloeziana
); southern NSW - Sydney Blue Gum (Eucalyptus saligna
), the Grey Ironbark (Eucalyptus paniculata
), and Blackbutt; and on the NSW coast a Stringybark
(eucalyptus eugenioides).
There are particularly rich collections of endemic plants in a number of areas: the eucalyptus of the Blue Mountains; the rainforests of Border Ranges area in the McPherson Range
including Mount Warning
, Nightcap National Park
, and Lamington National Park
including Binna Burra
; and the sand dunes of World Heritage Site
Fraser Island and the Great Sandy National Park
of southern Queensland. There are well-known areas of rainforest protected as the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, containing distinct areas of subtropical rainforest in New South Wales, dry rainforest of southern Queensland (although most of this has been cleared for agriculture and pine plantation and warm temperate rainforest south of Sydney. Finally the coasts are covered with shrubs, heath and other sand dune vegetation.
s, while the birds of the forest include kookaburra
kingfishers, Gang-gang Cockatoo
s, Crimson Rosella
s and Striated Thornbill
s and a number of threatened birds including Red Goshawk
(Erythrotriorchis radiatus), Swift Parrot
(Lathamus discolor), Regent Honeyeater
(Xanthomyza phrygia), Albert's Lyrebird
(Menura alberti), and Eastern Bristlebird
(Dasyornis brachypterus).
both weeds and animals, and pollution of water supplies threaten the indigenous wildlife. However, controlled logging of tallowwood, Sydney blue gum, spotted gum, blackbutt, and flooded gum does sustain large areas of these indigenous trees as well as formally protected areas such as those mentioned above and Royal National Park
near to Sydney which contains a number of the different habitats described here . Urban areas in this ecoregion include Sydney and Brisbane while resort areas like North Stradbroke Island
and Ballina
attract visitors to the coast.
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
of open forest on uplands behind the east coast of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and southern Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Location and description
This ecoregion covers an area between Australia's east coast and the Great Dividing RangeGreat Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
from just south of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
up to central Queensland, and includes the Blue Mountains and the Border Ranges
Border Ranges National Park
Border Ranges National Park, 150 km south of Brisbane, Australia, is in northern New South Wales with a small portion located in Queensland....
to the west and north of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. These are areas of eucalyptus forest on sandstone plateau, with smaller sections of cliffs, steep gorges with rainforest vegetation and sandy heath on the coasts. The climate is warm temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
(lowland areas have maximum 28 degrees C in summer, minimum 3 degrees in winter).
Flora
The dominant forest is peppermint EucalyptusEucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
trees, indeed it was the moisture from these trees which was originally thought to cause the blue mist that gave the mountains their name. A variety of different eucalyptus trees dominate particular areas of this large ecoregion, including: in southern queensland/northern NSW -Tallowwood (Eucalyptus microcorys), Blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis
Eucalyptus pilularis
Eucalyptus pilularis, commonly known as Blackbutt, is a common and dominant tree of the myrtaceae family native to southeastern Australia. A large tree, it is identified by the stocking of rough bark, to about half way up the trunk, above this is white smooth bark. The leaves are a uniform glossy...
), Brush Box (Lophostemon confertus
Lophostemon confertus
The Brush Box, Lophostemon confertus, is a tree native to Australia, though it can be found in the United States and elsewhere. Quite frequently, it has been planted as a street tree, due to its hearty nature, its disease and pest resilience, high tolerance for smog, drought and poor drainage, as...
), Flooded Gum (Eucalyptus grandis
Eucalyptus grandis
Eucalyptus grandis, commonly known as the Flooded gum or Rose gum, is a tall tree with smooth bark, rough at the base fibrous or flaky, grey to grey-brown...
), and Gympie messmate (Eucalyptus cloeziana
Eucalyptus cloeziana
Eucalyptus cloeziana, Gympie Messmate, is a small to tall tree with rough bark on most or the whole of the trunk and larger branches. The bark is soft, flaky, tessellated, light brown or yellow-brown, where smooth, greyish white or yellowish above....
); southern NSW - Sydney Blue Gum (Eucalyptus saligna
Eucalyptus saligna
Eucalyptus saligna, known as the Sydney Blue Gum, is a large Australian hardwood tree common along the New South Wales seaboard and into Queensland, reaching about 65 metres in height...
), the Grey Ironbark (Eucalyptus paniculata
Eucalyptus paniculata
Eucalyptus paniculata is a common eucalyptus tree of eastern New South Wales, Australia. A dark trunked forest tree with grey furrowed bark. When in flower, the nectar is attractive to birds and insects, and is used in honey production.- Habitat :The natural range of distribution is high rainfall...
), and Blackbutt; and on the NSW coast a Stringybark
Stringybark
A stringybark can be any of the many Eucalyptus species which have thick, fibrous bark. Like all eucalypts, stringybarks belong to the Myrtaceae family. In exceptionally fertile locations some stringybark species A stringybark can be any of the many Eucalyptus species which have thick, fibrous...
(eucalyptus eugenioides).
There are particularly rich collections of endemic plants in a number of areas: the eucalyptus of the Blue Mountains; the rainforests of Border Ranges area in the McPherson Range
McPherson Range
The McPherson Range is an extensive mountain range, a spur of the Great Dividing Range, heading in an easterly direction from near Wallangarra to the Pacific Ocean coastline. It forms part of the Scenic Rim on the border between the states of New South Wales and Queensland. Further west of the...
including Mount Warning
Mount Warning
Mount Warning is a mountain west-south-west of Murwillumbah, near the border with Queensland in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia...
, Nightcap National Park
Nightcap National Park
Nightcap National Park is in New South Wales, Australia, 35 km north of Lismore. It is classed by the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas as Category II...
, and Lamington National Park
Lamington National Park
Lamington is a national park in Queensland, Australia, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border...
including Binna Burra
Binna Burra
Binna Burra is a parcel of private land surrounded by Lamington National Park in Queensland, Australia. The settlement lies in the north-eastern corner of the Lamington Plateau, 75 km south of Brisbane. It is a part of the World Heritage site, Gondwana Rainforests of Australia...
; and the sand dunes of World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
Fraser Island and the Great Sandy National Park
Great Sandy National Park
Great Sandy is a coastal national park and suburb in Queensland, Australia. The park features untouched beaches, large sand dunes, heathlands, rainforests, swamps, creeks, freshwater lakes and mangrove forests....
of southern Queensland. There are well-known areas of rainforest protected as the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, containing distinct areas of subtropical rainforest in New South Wales, dry rainforest of southern Queensland (although most of this has been cleared for agriculture and pine plantation and warm temperate rainforest south of Sydney. Finally the coasts are covered with shrubs, heath and other sand dune vegetation.
Fauna
Local wildlife includes velvet wormVelvet worm
The velvet worms are a minor ecdysozoan phylum. These obscurely segmented organisms have tiny eyes, antennae, multiple pairs of legs and slime glands. They have variously been compared to worms with legs, caterpillars and slugs...
s, while the birds of the forest include kookaburra
Kookaburra
Kookaburras are terrestrial kingfishers native to Australia and New Guinea. They are large to very large, with a total length of . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri guuguubarra, and is onomatopoeic of its call...
kingfishers, Gang-gang Cockatoo
Gang-gang Cockatoo
The Gang-gang Cockatoo, Callocephalon fimbriatum, is found in the cooler and wetter forests and woodlands of Australia, particularly alpine bushland. Mostly mild grey in colour with some lighter scalloping the male has a red head and crest, while the female has a small fluffy grey crest...
s, Crimson Rosella
Crimson Rosella
The Crimson Rosella is a parrot native to eastern and south eastern Australia which has been introduced to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. It is commonly found in, but not restricted to, mountain forests and gardens. The species as it now stands has subsumed two former separate species, the Yellow...
s and Striated Thornbill
Striated Thornbill
The Striated Thornbill is a species of bird in the Pardalotidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests....
s and a number of threatened birds including Red Goshawk
Red Goshawk
The Red Goshawk is probably the rarest Australian bird of prey. It is found mainly in the savanna woodlands of northern Australia, particularly near watercourses...
(Erythrotriorchis radiatus), Swift Parrot
Swift Parrot
The Swift Parrot breeds in Tasmania and migrates north to south eastern Australia from Griffith-Warialda in New South Wales and west to Adelaide in the winter. It is related to the rosellas, with the feeding habits of a lorikeet...
(Lathamus discolor), Regent Honeyeater
Regent Honeyeater
The Regent Honeyeater, Xanthomyza phrygia, is an endangered bird endemic to Australia. It feeds on nectar and insects within eucalyptus forests. Recent genetic research suggests it is closely related to the wattlebirds.-Distribution:...
(Xanthomyza phrygia), Albert's Lyrebird
Albert's Lyrebird
The Albert's Lyrebird is a pheasant-sized songbird, approximately 90cm long, with brown upper body plumage and rich chestnut below. It is very similar with the Superb Lyrebird in its habits. This bird also mimics other species sounds....
(Menura alberti), and Eastern Bristlebird
Eastern Bristlebird
The Eastern Bristlebird is a species of bird in the Bristlebird family Dasyornithidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, and temperate grassland...
(Dasyornis brachypterus).
Threats and preservation
These habitats are vulnerable to ongoing clearance for agriculture and urban development and by fires, while introduced speciesIntroduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
both weeds and animals, and pollution of water supplies threaten the indigenous wildlife. However, controlled logging of tallowwood, Sydney blue gum, spotted gum, blackbutt, and flooded gum does sustain large areas of these indigenous trees as well as formally protected areas such as those mentioned above and Royal National Park
Royal National Park
Royal National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 29 km south of Sydney CBD.Founded by Sir John Robertson, Acting Premier of New South Wales, and formally proclaimed on 26 April 1879, it is the world's second oldest purposed national park, the first usage of the term...
near to Sydney which contains a number of the different habitats described here . Urban areas in this ecoregion include Sydney and Brisbane while resort areas like North Stradbroke Island
North Stradbroke Island
North Stradbroke Island is an Australian island in the state of Queensland, 30 km southeast of the capital Brisbane. Before 1896 the island was part of the Stradbroke Island. In that year a storm separated it from South Stradbroke Island, forming the Jumpinpin Channel. It is known...
and Ballina
Ballina, New South Wales
Ballina is a town on the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire Local Government Area. It had a population of 16,477 in the 2006 Census.-Location:...
attract visitors to the coast.