Academic literature on the topic 'Forest ecology Australia, Southern'

The temperate forest ecosystems of Australia and New Zealand have had a similar history of exploitation and destruction since European settlement. This differed markedly from the previous use of these forests by indigenous peoples. Australian Aborigines are considered to have used the forests on a sustainable basis. Fire was the primary management tool and probably had its greatest effect on floristic composition and structure. The Maori of New Zealand initially cleared substantial areas of forest, but by the time of European settlement they appear to have been approaching sustainable management of the remainder. In both countries, the arrival of Europeans disrupted sustainability and significantly changed the evolutionary history of the forests and their biota. The exploitation and destruction of temperate forests by Europeans in both countries has been driven largely by agricultural and forestry activities, based around settlement and export industries. The Australian continent never had substantial forest cover but this has been reduced by more than half in just 200 years. New Zealand has suffered a similar overall level of further loss; although in the lowlands this can reach 95 per cent. In recent times, forest production and management policies in the two countries have diverged. In both countries the majority of remaining indigenous forests are on publicly-owned land. Australia still maintains indigenous forest production as an industry exploiting old growth forests, the management being split between an emphasis on production forestry and nature conservation. New Zealand has largely abandoned indigenous forestry on public lands, the management being vested in a single conservation department. In New Zealand the production emphasis has mostly moved to sustainable plantation forestry, whereas in Australia, despite recommendations to halt or markedly reduce old growth forest logging, the transition to primary dependence on plantation production has yet to occur.

Seven species of the putatively obligately ectomycorrhizal fungal genus Rozites are described from Australian Nothofagus and myrtaceaeous forests. Rozites metallica, R. armeniacovelata, R. foetens, and R. occulta are new species associated with Nothofagus in south eastern Australia. Rozites fusipes, previously known only from New Zealand, is reported from Tasmanian Nothofagus forests. Rozites roseolilacina and R. symea are new species associated with Eucalyptus in south eastern and south western Australia respectively. The significance of these Rozites species to mycorrhizal and biogeographical theories, such as the origin of ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with myrtaceous plants in Australia are discussed. The diversity of Rozites species in Australia, which equals or exceeds that of other southern regions, furthers the notion that many species of the genus co-evolved with Nothofagus in the Southern Hemisphere. Rozites symea in Western Australia occurs well outside the current geographic range of Nothofagus. It is considered to be a relict species that has survived the shift in dominant ectomycorrhizal forest tree type from Nothofagus to Myrtaceae (local extinction of Nothofagus 4–5 million years ago), and is most likely now confined to the high rainfall zone in the south west. Data on Rozites in Australia support the concept that at least some of the present set of ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with Myrtaceae in Australia are those which successfully completed a host change from Nothofagus, and adapted to changing climate, vegetation and soil conditions during and since the Tertiary. We suggest that the ancient stock of Rozites arose somewhere within the geographical range of a Cretaceous fagalean complex of plant taxa. By the end of the Cretaceous, Rozites and the fagalean complex may have spanned the Asian–Australian region including perhaps many Southern Hemisphere regions. A northern portion of the ancestral Rozites stock gave rise to extant Northern Hemisphere Rozites species and a southern portion speciated as Nothofagus itself speciated.

Rufous treecreepers (Climacteris rufa) are common in southern jarrah forests of Western Australia, but nothing has been recorded of their ecology in the region. I investigated the foraging and nesting ecology of the species in the southern jarrah forests from January 1994 to April 1996. Rufous treecreepers foraged exclusively on two eucalypt species, jarrah and marri, and foraged on trees that were significantly larger and taller than random. Foraging on the ground, logs and fallen trees was relatively infrequent. Nest hollows were also located exclusively in jarrah and marri trees that were significantly larger and taller than random. The important foraging and nesting resources for the species in the southern jarrah forest appear to be large mature and overmature eucalypts. Anthropogenic impacts in the region, primarily logging, should aim to retain these resources in affected areas to improve the survival prospects of the species. When compared with studies in wandoo woodlands, the results of the present study indicate that the conservation of ground-layer habitat is likely to be of less importance in the jarrah forest. These habitat differences indicate that site-specific information is critical if the management and conservation of individual species is to be effective.

Introduction: Polylepis forest is an ecosystem stated with conservation priority and threatened by anthropogenic effects; extensive livestock is one of the most frequent disturbances. Objective: To study the effect of livestock on the early stages of regeneration of a queñoa (Polylepis australis Bitt.) forest. Materials and methods: Within a pure forest of P. australis at Parque Provincial Potrero de Yala, Jujuy, Argentina, densities of seedlings (˂1 year) and saplings (˃1 year and ˂30 cm) were measured in the presence (0.23 heads∙ha-1) and absence of livestock, for a year. Linear mixed models(normal distribution) were adjusted for density of seedlings and saplings. Data was analyzed with a Chi-square test (X2). Results and discussion: Presence of livestock had no impact on seedling density, but significantly decreased density of saplings (P < 0.001); in areas without livestock (10.58 ± 6.64 individuals∙m-2) was three times higher than with presence of livestock (3.17 ± 3.86 individuals∙m-2). Difference in density of seedlings and saplings was significantly (P < 0.001) over time. This indicates that there is potential for natural regeneration, but livestock would affect stages after seedling emergence, representing a threat to the forest. Conclusion: This study provides important information on livestock management in mountain forests of P. australis. A long-term study of the effect of livestock on seedling and sapling density, and over the entire distribution range, is needed.

Mulga is a distinctive woodland or shrub community with a wide distribution across the semi-arid zone of southern and central Australia. Mulga (Acacia aneura) is the dominant shrub and small tree, but other species of Acacia are common. Typical of Australian habitats in the arid zone, mulga has a core of resident bird species that is augmented by nomadic (opportunistic) species when conditions are favourable. This paper describes the foraging behaviour and habitat use of a mulga avifauna in the vicinity of Alice Springs during late winter, when many opportunistic species were present. Data were obtained for 24 species, of which 16 were confirmed as nesting. Many birds, regardless of their normal foraging habits, converged on a common food resource: a geometrid moth (Geometridae) that was abundant on mulga plants. Despite their use of a common food resource, species differed in their foraging behaviour, proportions of different substrates used, and foraging heights. Ground-foraging species dominated the avifauna, but in most respects the guild structure of the community was a scaled-down version of Eucalyptus forest avifaunas. Differences in guild structure between mulga and eucalypt forest are best explained by differences between the two habitats in the kinds of resources (e.g. foraging substrates, types of food) that are available.

Fire danger indices integrate weather and fuel variables to indicate the potential for wildland fires to ignite, spread, resist suppression and cause damage. McArthur’s Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) is applied across much of Australia, with the forecast daily maximum value used to inform fire management planning decisions and issuance of public warnings. Variations in daily maximum FFDI and the hourly changing of FFDI values during the day (including use of different soil moisture deficit indices) were compared against five binary fire activity statistics in six forested areas in southern Australia, with performance assessed using Theil–Sen regression lines fitted to rank percentile curves. Fire activity rates were similar on days with wide and narrow hourly FFDI distributions except in one study area where days with wide distributions experienced more fires. The maximum hourly FFDI metric performed the best of all the metrics tested, though there were no statistically significant differences among any of them. There was also little difference in the performance of metrics determined using alternative calculations and different drought indices. These results suggest that the current use of the forecast hourly maximum FFDI is appropriate and that using alternative methods to determine Drought Factor offers little benefit.

The ladybird beetle genus Hong Ślipiński was previously known from a single female specimen from a subtropical forest in South East Queensland, Australia. Hong guerreroi sp. nov. and H. slipinskii sp. nov. from a temperate forests of Central and Southern Chile are described and illustrated. A key for the species of the genus and complementary characters, in-cluding the first description of males, are provided.

Temperate rainforests and eucalypt forests of coastal south-eastern Australia are distributed differentially with aspect. Rainforests, in which Ceratopetalum apetalum D.Don and Doryphora sassafras Endl. are the dominant tree species, occur on slopes of southerly aspect and along gully bottoms, whereas eucalypt forests, dominated by Eucalyptus maculata Hook., occur on upper slopes of northerly aspect and on ridge tops. Whether transpiration rates of trees differed across the rainforest-eucalypt forest boundary on north and south facing aspects was tested by measuring stem sap flow in trees in a single catchment during winter, summer and autumn. Differences in transpiration rate by trees in these stands were due to various combinations of biological and physical factors. Firstly, mean maximum transpiration rate per tree (crown area basis) was greater in rainforest on the gully bottom where deep soil water from down-slope drainage was greater than in eucalypt forest located upslope on the northern aspect. By contrast, there was no difference between maximum transpiration rates in rainforest and eucalypt forest on the southern aspect. Variation in transpiration rate between seasons was not related to variation in surface soil moisture content (< 0.35 m depth). Secondly, transpiration rates per unit crown area in rainforest at the gully bottom were associated with higher leaf area indices than upslope on the northern aspect. However, in rainforest upslope on the southern aspect, higher transpiration rates were not associated with higher leaf area indices. Thirdly, trees in eucalypt forest maintained similar sapwood moisture contents in summer as in winter and autumn, whereas sapwood moisture contents declined in rainforest trees in summer, suggesting that eucalypts had access to water from deep within the soil profile which was unavailable to more shallow rooting rainforest trees. Fourthly, higher modal and maximal sap velocities in eucalypt trees were partly due to wider xylem vessels and resulted in faster maximum sap flow and greater daily total water use in all seasons on both aspects than in rainforest species. Finally, as atmospheric demand for water increased from winter to summer, transpiration rates were mediated by stomata1 closure as indicated by lower average midday shoot conductance to water vapour during summer than other seasons. The interaction between microenvironment, which deteimines water availability, and physiological attsibutes, which determine tree water acquisition and use, may contribute to the differential distribution of rainforest and eucalypt forest with aspect in south-eastern Australia.

The social organisation of the yellow-bellied glider was examined at Kioloa in southern New South Wales. Gliders lived in family groups that initially included several adult females and, in one instance, two females in the same group lactated concurrently, suggesting that gliders at this site are capable of polygyny. Group size at this time numbered five to six individuals but later declined to three individuals (an adult pair with offspring), coinciding with three consecutive years of flower failure by Eucalyptus maculata, the major winter food resource. Mean group size between 1986 and 1989 was 4.2 individuals. Females gave birth predominantly between February and April, which is several months earlier than at other sites in southern Australia and which is presumed to be determined by the availability of certain food resources. Home ranges of glider groups were exclusive and averaged 34 ha (minimum convex polygon). Glider density averaged 0.10-0.16 individuals per ha. Parallels are drawn between the socioecology of gliders at this site and that in north Queensland and contrasted with that at other sites in southern Australia.

There is growing interest in airborne lidar for forest carbon accounting and precision forestry purposes. Airborne lidar systems offer a cost-effective, versatile, operationally flexible and robust sampling tool for forest managers. The objective of this study was to develop and test lidar canopy surface enhancement and segmentation processes for estimating dominant above-ground biomass (DAB) in a harvested eucalypt forest on the Central Coast of New South Wales (Australia). The Crown Infill, Trim and Smooth (CITS) process, incorporating a series of filters, algorithms, and selective multi-stage smoothing, was used to enhance lidar canopy surfaces prior to segmentation. Canopy segmentation was achieved using a vertical crown template approach termed the Spatially and Morphologically Isolated Crest (SMIC) process. SMIC delineates dominant tree crowns by detecting elevated crown crests within a 3D lidar canopy surface. Consolidated crown units constitute the basic sampling, analysis and reporting units for wall-to-wall forest inventory. The performance, sensitivity and limitations of these procedures were evaluated using a combination of simulated forest models and actual lidar forest data. Automated crown polygons were used as a sampling template to extract dominant tree height values which were converted to DAB estimates via height-to-biomass relationships derived from field survey and on-site destructive sampling. Results were compared with field based tree height and biomass estimates. Compared against a manually derived crown map from a 2ha field plot, canopy segmentation results revealed a producer???s accuracy of 76% and overall accuracy of 67%. Results indicated a trend toward greater crown splitting (fragmentation) as trees increase in age, height, stem diameter and crown size. Extracted dominant tree height values were highly correlated with ground survey height estimates (r2 0.95 for precision survey and r2 0.69 for standard survey). There was also no significant difference between SMIC and manual crown height estimates. SMIC units overestimated ground-based DAB by 5%; this increased to 36% with the inclusion of segmentation errors. However, SMIC estimation of total plot above-ground biomass (AGB) was within 9% of the ground-based estimate. Results are encouraging considering the mixed-species, multi-aged composition of the forest, and the combined effects of SMIC segmentation and lidar height errors.

This thesis explores issues relating to the application of physiological-process models (???process models???) of forest growth to mixed species, mixed age forests, in particular the coastal blackbutt forests of New South Wales. Using a dataset provided by State Forests of New South Wales (Carter 1994 unpubl.) a numeric description of the forest was developed and stand-level parameters of interest were derived, in particular the plot by plot stemwood volume growth from 1975 to 1999. The amounts of harvested volume, volume that died and volume that grew into the measurement population were identified separately, and several different means of accounting for volume change over time were investigated. A method for quantifying the impact of harvesting and other silvicultural practices on the growth of the forest was developed and programs were written to convert the stand-level summary of the harvest impact into a semi-random selection of trees that would be ???harvested??? from the database under the set of silvicultural assumptions (Dore et al. 1999). A number of process models were investigated and reviewed before selecting one particular model, SUSTAIN (Dewar 1997) for adaption to these forests. This model is a relatively simple process model with a small number of input parameters. The model was adapted so that it could be used to compare the SUSTAIN estimate of growth with the growth of an individual stand of trees in the Kendall Forest Management Area, between Wauchope and Taree on the mid-north coast of NSW. To improve the accuracy of the prediction of growth by SUSTAIN, a method of re-setting the state of the stand to the actual condition at the time of remeasurement was developed. In addition, the SUSTAIN model was extended to enable two separate levels of canopy to be described and grown separately. Ultimately the model was only partially successful in mirroring the growth predicted by the empirical data. Its partial success is attributed primarily to the difficulties associated with correctly determining the allocation parameters used by the model to assign net photosynthate to the roots, foliage and stemwood. The nature of the change in allocation parameters when the forest stand is disturbed by harvest or fire needs further investigation.

I used age structure to examine the role of fire disturbance and climate on the population dynamics of the subalpine forest in the southern Sierra Nevada. I cored trees on ten 0.1 ha plots (3300-3400 m elevation) that varied in species composition, from single-species foxtail pine (Pinus balfouriana) or lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta, var. murrayana), to mixed-species stands of both pines. Crossdating was used to produce accurate dates of tree recruitment and fire events. Age structure varied by plot species composition: lodgepole pine recruitment pattern is pulsed, sometimes forming single-cohort patches in response to fire; foxtail pine plots have a more steady pattern of recruitment; mixed-species plots show an intermediate recruitment pattern. Fire may maintain a species composition mosaic in the subalpine forest. Foxtail pine regeneration may increase in areas opened by fire, although not immediately following fire. Low-intensity fire may spread over areas larger than previously reported under certain conditions in the subalpine zone. In addition, unusually frequent, extreme, and/or extended periods of drought may severely limit subalpine tree regeneration. Growing season frost events and grazing before 1900 may also have affected trees establishing in the subalpine zone.

This study investigated the ecology of the marsupial brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa; phascogale) in jarrah forest of Western Australia (WA). The thesis provides a descriptive account of the species' population dynamics, the phascogale’s size and growth, foraging ecology and nesting behaviour. The main work was undertaken between 1992-1995 and information was gathered by capture and by using radiotelemetry. The availability of food sources and refuge sites was examined and the species' immediate response to a logging operation was investigated. On a broader scale, the taxonomy of phascogales in WA was reviewed and their past and present distributions were explored by modelling and examination of museum records. The species has previously been subject to only one detailed study and this was undertaken in the State of Victoria. Both similarities and differences were observed between the phascogales in WA and Victoria. Many of the differences appeared to have a nutritional basis. Phascogales are primarily arboreal insectivores and some of the invertebrates most commonly found in scats and stomachs were not abundant on trees. Nectarivory was very rarely observed (cf. Victoria). While phascogales are generalists in diet, they clearly show preferences for certain foods. The strongly seasonal climate in the southwest (long dry summers and wet winters) and the lack of diversity in tree species and low nectar availability probably limit food for WA phascogales. The dispersed nature of tree invertebrates and the apparent scarcity of some preferred prey, such as beetles, possibly explain the exclusive and often large size of female territories. Phascogales in the study area were smaller and less sexually dimorphic than those in Victoria. Males were 30%, and females 20%, less in weight than those in Victoria. They were similarly smaller in skeletal size. Overall size was also found to vary' between habitat type and between years. In a year of drought phascogales did not achieve typical body size with mature males in that year weighing an average 25% less than usual. The evidence strongly suggests that annual and local availability of food is a major determinant of body size and growth. Such variability in food availability may also be the evolutionary basis behind the litter sizes of WA phascogales. These are smaller than those in Victoria (mode WA = 6, Victoria = 8). The timing of major life-history events was as described for Victorian phascogales, although births occur a little later in the year. All males died at the end of the single annual breeding season (male semelparity) and young took some five to six months to raise to weaning. Some females survived to breed in a second year but the number encountered was low. The toll of lactation probably reduces lifespan and females were often in poor condition at late lactation and maximum maternal effort appears selectively invested in the first litter. Typical of the semelparous species, females initially tried to raise as many young as they have teats. However, there was variation in litter sizes among females. The basis for this was anatomical as females had six, seven or eight teats. Such variation occurred throughout the study area, within litters and appears a State-wide phenomenon. Except in a hybrid Antechinus population, there appears to be no marsupial precedent for intrapopulation and intralitter variation in teat number. In such a strongly selected trait, it is speculated that such variation could only persist if the environment was spatially and/or temporally unstable in terms of food availability. There was no evidence that reduction in teat number was a direct trade-off that improved the chance of surviving to breed on a second occasion, but data were limited. The teat trait is presumably under genetic control and the promiscuous mating behaviour of phascogales may contribute, via multiple paternity, to the intralitter variability observed. In the year of drought litters were significantly female biased. Neither sex were sexually dimorphic until they began foraging for themselves, therefore such bias was unlikely to reduce maternal stress during the drought conditions. The adaptive advantage of the bias was undetermined, but current literature indicates that such bias occurs at conception. However, female offspring probably have better post-weaning survival than males. Examination of refuge requirements showed that natural nest sites were located in tree hollows. The profile of the trees chosen agree with most studies on hollow-nesting species. There was no apparent preference for particular tree species but there was a preference for nesting in older and senescent or dead trees. Females with dependent young showed particular preference for these trees' forms. However, once a tree was used, no tree characteristics measured were predictors of the tree being used on further occasions. Excluding females with young, phascogales typically spent 2-5 days nesting in the one refuge before moving to another. Females moved between alternative refuges more than males and home range maintenance is proposed to account for the difference (males were not territorial cf. females). For both sexes, parasite avoidance might account for the generally low level of nest-site fidelity. Individuals were estimated to use around 27 (males) and 38 (females) different nest-sites during one year of adult life. The parameters of hollows examined showed a preference for using hollows with small entrances. More than predator avoidance, interspecific competition for hollows may explain such selectivity. Following the year of drought, communal nesting was common in autumn and winter. This was in marked contrast to data gathered early in the study and to the nesting behaviour of Victorian phascogales. Communal nesting was probably an energy conserving strategy adopted to compensate for unusually small body size. This behaviour may have been a single year event. However, as phascogales in the area are normally much smaller in body mass than those studied in eastern Australia, they may tend to nest communally in winter or when under conditions of hardship. The immediate response of phascogales to logging was examined. Those affected continued to travel through and feed in the logged areas, which reinforces the concept of high site fidelity among animals. Phascogales were commonly found feeding among ground debris in cut areas indicating flexibility in foraging mode. With rare exceptions they ceased nesting in trees in the logged parts of their territories and confined such nesting to surrounding uncut forest. This suggests that the forestry practice of retaining a select number of hollow-bearing trees/ha may be insufficient to meet the species' refuge requirements in logged areas. Of concern is that currently unlogged sections in logged forest can be cut within 10-20 years yet trees take some 200 years to develop hollows. Additionally, the value of young regrovvth as a food source to this species is questionable. The study highlights the concerns that many scientists have regarding the preservation of hollow-nesting fauna in areas that are impacted by logging. A revision of the species taxonomy (including the subspecies P. t. pirata) indicates that southern WA phascogales warrant subspecies status. Differences in basiacranial features were found between the regional groups in Australia. However, the issue of long-term geographic and reproductive isolation is perhaps the greater argument for suggesting subspecific status for WA phascogales. This is currently being examined using mitochondrial DNA techniques. This will provide not only a DNA profile of similarities and presumed differences between WA and southeastern phascogales, but will give an estimation of the time that the two groups have been separated. A modelling exercise undertaken to examine the potential past distribution of WA phascogales showed that climatic conditions favourable to this species are found throughout the southern part of WA. For many of these areas there are no records of phascogales although a single historical work (1909) indicated that they were present in these areas. At that time they were apparently already extinct in some areas and dying out in others. A survey of the northern jarrah forest and a few other areas (by using nestboxes) failed to detect phascogales. The population examined during this study was therefore quite unusual in density, as phascogales were readily found in nestboxes. A myriad of factors culminating in low feral predation in the area seems the most likely explanation for the high densities observed. The conservation status of phascogales in areas other than the study region requires examination. Predation by exotic predators might account for the species' rarity, but food appears a generally limiting factor for phascogales and processes that alter habitat productivity may significantly impact this species.

This study documented effects of fragmentation and disturbance on a coastal eucalypt dry open-forest plant community at Port Stephens-Myall Lakes, south-eastern Australia. The study evaluated the relative influence of fragment size (range <1-75ha), fragment or edge age (< 1-25y), time since fire (5-25y) and anthropogenic disturbance (minor, major) on microclimate, native plant species richness and weed invasion. Plots were sampled for native and exotic species richness per 25 m2 and edge transects for light, soil moisture, soil temperature, vegetation structure, native species richness and exotic species richness and cover. Depths of edge influence (DEI) were all < 20m inside the forest edge. Younger edge zones were lighter, had hotter and drier soils and more native species than forest interiors. Older edge zones were shadier, had warmer and moister soils and fewer native species than forest interiors, due to vegetation thickening in the edge zone. Light and soil moisture followed linear or monotonic edge-to-interior gradients in younger edges, but more complex patterns in older edges. Soil-temperature DEI decreased with increasing edge age. Fragment size had little influence on edge effects, but those for light developed more rapidly in smaller fragments, and recent fire was associated with reduced richness in edge zones of smaller fragments. Both anthropogenic disturbance and fire enlarged DEI for native species richness. Major anthropogenic disturbance coupled with fragmentation produced a stronger and more immediate loss of native species than fragmentation alone. Small fragments with minor disturbance had fewer native species per 25 m2 than larger fragments, but only after >10y since fragmentation. Analysis of forest interior portions of transects revealed that edge effects, and possibly disturbance, were largely responsible for this loss of native species with time, rather than effects of area. Despite a viable soil seed bank in fragments and the surrounding matrix, weed invasion in fragments was minimal. Exotic species were concentrated in edge zones, and were promoted by major anthropogenic disturbance within fragments. Results were highly dependent on fragment or edge age, and external influences of fragmentation (edge effects and disturbance), were more important than biogeographic (area-driven) factors. Impacts of fragmentation were compounded when combined with disturbance.

This thesis sets out to test the hypothesis that the vegetational patterns in the forested region of south western Australia are primarily determined by the interaction of climate and landform. The region is an area of 4.25 million hectares subject to recent agreement between the Commonwealth of '4ustralia and the state of Western Australia regarding long-term protection and management of forest (Regional Forest Agreement). The climate of the South Western forest region is warm temperate and summer dry, matching Koeppen's category Cs, usually described as mediterranean. The dominant geological features of South Western Australia are crystalline and sedimentary plateaus and coastal plains. They are subject to a complex process of weathering, denudation and re-deposition, which is the key determinant of landforms and soil patterns. Deep but infertile soils are prevalent. The dominant vegetation formation of the region is open forest, which reduces to woodland in the drier north and east and increases to tall open forest in the moister south. Floristically the vegetation is very rich, comprising over 3000 vascular plant species. The richness resides in the forest and woodland understorey and in the shrublands, heathlands and sedgelands of edaphically extreme sites. By comparison, the forest overstorey is very simple, only one or two species being often dominant over extensive areas. The validation of the hypothesis that climate and landforms determine the vegetation patterns in South Western Australia is carried out in the following stages: 1) review of past studies of vegetation patterns in relation to the underlying environmental factors, relating them to one another in terms of floristics, 2) conversion of landform and climate maps for the region into vegetation maps by means of toposequences, that is gradients of topography, soils and vegetation within individual landform/climate combinations, 3) production of two sets of vegetation maps, namely six maps of vegetation complexes (1:250,000) and one map of vegetation systems (1:500,000), 4) testing the predictive capability of the resulting maps by comparing the occurrences of individual species of trees, shrubs and herbs predicted by map legends, with their records in FloraBase, the geographic information system of the Western Australian Herbarium, and 5) using the outcomes of the above studies to assess the validity of the hypothesis. Because the above hypothesis is so broad, it will be considered under seven headings: a) nature of the vegetation patterns (continuum or discrete categories), b) regional effect of climate and local effect of landform, c) effect of landforms on soil depth, texture and fertility, d) joint effect of slope, soil depth and texture on water balance, e) interactive effect of landform and climate on vegetation patterns, f) response of individual species to climate and landform, and g) effect of other factors of environment, such as fire, on vegetation patterns. The subsidiary hypotheses are defined in Chapter 5. It is concluded that the vegetation of the region forms a lumpy continuum from the wet south west to the dry north east. Within that broad continuum there are localised continua from waterlogged sites in depressions to drought-prone sites on steep stony slopes. However, the dominant vegetation of the region is open forest on plateau uplands with deep infertile soils. Although climate and landforms have a strong effect on vegetation patterns, they do not determine all vegetation patterns directly. Some tree species have ranges of occurrence that are too broad for that, and others have ranges that are too restricted. A more probable explanation is that climate and landforms, together with fire, set the stage on which the interplay of species takes place and determines the structure and composition of the vegetation. An attempt is made to predict the likely effect of climatic changes on vegetation patterns. The applicability of the methodology developed to the mapping of other regions, especially the adjacent ones, is examined. A review is made of how the products of the study, in particular the maps, are currently being used, and suggestions are made how they could be used in the future.