Shale Plains Woodland
Overview
Shale Plains Woodland, along with Shale Hills Woodland, makes up the Cumberland Plain Woodland community. Shale Plains Woodland is the more common of the two forms. It occurs mainly in the driest parts of the Sydney basin as it is well adapted to drought and fire. Originally there was over 122000 hectares of Cumberland Plain Woodland across Western Sydney, but only 8% of this remains. It is listed as an endangered ecological community under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995.
Dominant Plant Species
Use the links next to the photo below to view the dominant plant species of this community.
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Canopy Species |
| Understory Species | |
| Ground Species | |
Surrounding Communities
Cumberland Plain Woodland (Shale Hills and Shale Plains Woodland) grows on shale soils. In areas where there is more gravel in the soil , it grades into Shale-Gravel Transition Forest. In areas where there is more sand in the soil, it grades into Shale-Sandstone Transition Forest.
Major Impacts
The clearing of the woodland for farming and urban development is the major cause for the original reduction in size of this vegetation community. Due to this it now only exists in isolated pockets, making it easier for weeds to invade the community. An increase in soil nutrients in some disturbed sites has also helped the weeds. The natives prefer the typically low nutrient soils of Australia, so excess nutrients give the weeds an advantage.
Other impacts include rubbish dumping and frequent fire. When fires occur less then five years apart a loss in plant species can result in the community. Most species in this community have developed strategies such as regenerating from underground tubers or producing a very large amount of seed to survive fires. However, they require time between fires for the new plants to reach maturity and produce more seed to regenerate the seed bank. When fires occur more frequently then every five years, there is not enough time for some plants to do this. As a result, once all the seeds already in the soil have been used up, the species is lost to the area.
