Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands

Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands (MVG 14) is a Major Vegetation Group which occurs in semi-arid areas of southern Australia.[1] The vegetation is dominated by mallee eucalypts which are rarely over 6 metres high. Other dominant plant genera are Melaleuca, Acacia and Hakea.[1]

The composition of the understorey depends on factors such as rainfall, soil composition as well as fire frequency and intensity. In subhumid areas, a variety of grasses and shrubs predominate, while in semi-arid areas hummock grasses (Triodia species) predominate.[1]

In 2001, the area covered by this vegetation group was estimated to be 65% of its pre 1788 coverage.[2]

The most extensive extant area of this group in Australia today is found in the Great Victoria Desert. Prior to 1788, the largest area occurred in the Murray-Darling basin.[1]

The Major Vegetation Subgroups for this group are:

  • Mallee with hummock grass
  • Mallee with a dense shrubby understorey
  • Mallee with an open shrubby understorey
  • Mallee with a tussock grass understorey.[1]
Map of smaller IBRA defined biogeographic
Mallee region.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "MVG 14-Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands" (PDF). Australian Natural Resources Atlas. Australian Government. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
  2. ↑ Lindenmayer, David; Mark Burgman (2005). Practical Conservation Biology (PDF). CSIRO. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
360° panorama of Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands in northwest Victoria.
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