Victorian Volcanic Plain grasslands
The Victorian Volcanic Plain Grasslands are a critically endangered temperate grasslands that occur in the Australian state of Victoria, stretching from Hamilton in the northwest to the city of Melbourne. Part of the Southern Volcanic Plain and bordering the Gippsland Plains Grassy Woodland to the east, the grasslands sit on Cainozoic volcanic deposits.[1] In 2011, the Victoria State Government had reserved 15,000 hectares of land to protect the critically endangered community.[2] Only less than 5% of the pre-European concentration of the grasslands remain.[3]
| Natural Temperate Grassland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain | |
|---|---|
 A wallaby in the grassy plain of Griffiths Island | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Australasia |
| Biome | Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands |
| Borders | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 22,000 km2 (8,500 sq mi) |
| Country | Australia |
| Elevation | 10–50 metres (33–164 ft) |
| Coordinates | 38°12′S 143°15′E / 38.2°S 143.25°E |
| Climate type | Oceanic climate (Cfb) Mediterranean climate (Csb) (western fringe) |
| Soil types | Basalt |
Geography
edit
The Victorian grasslands stretch 350 km (220 mi) west, from Melbourne (around Doreen) in the east, to Portland in the southwest, reaching the border of South Australia, on a flat to mildly undulating country at low altitudes, where they feature a belt around 100 km (62 mi) wide, covering approximately 20,000 square kilometres. The soils in the grassland are susceptible to cracking during drought and being miry in wet periods. Grazing and bushfires have an impact as well.[3] The grasslands also include the Natural Damp Grassland of the Victorian Coastal Plains.
The grasslands were once a large vegetation zone on the volcanic plain, but they have since been reduced to a small, highly divided remnants in a landscape that has been mostly cleared for agriculture. The area is dominated tussock grass alongside wildflowers (which make up 50% of the total landcover), with very few trees and shrubs. The grasslands feature dry warm summers and cool, wet winters. Annual rainfall ranges from 400 mm (15.75 in) to 1,000 mm (39.37 in) a year.[4]
Biodiversity
editIn addition to Kangaroo grass, Plume grass, Wallaby-grasses and Spear grasses, the area includes Spiny Rice flower, common tussock grass, Hoary Sunray, Eryngium ovinum, Acaena echinata, Button Wrinklewort, Leptorhynchos squamatus, purple clover, Convolvulus angustissimus, Schoenus apogon and as well as native orchids, lilies, daisies and peas. In wetter places, such as in the west, species that are more prevalent include Microtis unifolia and Drosera peltata. In drier regions, Chrysocephalum apiculatum and Calocephalus citreus are more common.
Native animals include striped legless lizard, Tussock Skink, common dunnart, Southern Grass Skink, eastern barred bandicoot, Golden Sun Moth, growling grass frog, eastern grey kangaroo and grassland earless dragon.[2][5]
References
edit- ^ Victorian Volcanic Plain Victorian Resources Online. Victoria State Government. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ a b The Western Grassland Reserves Biodiversity of the Western Volcanic Plains. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ a b Natural Temperate Grassland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
Text was copied from this source, which is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- ^ Biodiversity of the Western Volcanic Plains – The Western Volcanic Plains State of Victoria (Department of Education). Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ Victorian Volcanic Plains by Greening Australia. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
