Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub
Geography
The scrubland is found on wind-blown (aeolian) sands in coastal areas such as the Sydney Heads south to the Kamay Botany Bay National Park and Royal National Park, but has remnants between the Hawkesbury River in the north, and Stanwell Park, at the southern boundary.
It was once present as an almost uninterrupted band near the coastal perimeter of Sydney, where it covered 5,300 hectares of land between North Head and Botany Bay, but now there are very few parts left in Sydney, with only around 5-10% of the original area present. It mainly occurs on senescent and nutrient poor sands either on dunes, sandplains or on headlands.
It is now recorded in the local government areas of Botany, Randwick, Waverley, and Manly Councils. The heathlands are recorded in the coastal sandstone plateau, which grade into dry sclerophyll forests.
Ecology
The community generally features sclerophyllous heath or scrub species on coastal sandstone highland with infertile, shallow, somewhat moist soils, although small residue of woodland and low forest may occur.
It is dominated by woody shrub species, such as, Banksia aemula Banksia serrata, Leptospermum laevigatum, Monotoca elliptica, Acacia longifolia, and Acacia suaveolens, with stunted eucalypts, such as Corymbia gummifera and Angophora costata. Mallee varieties of Corymbia gummifera, Eucalyptus camfieldii, Eucalyptus luehmanniana and Eucalyptus obstans may be found on coastal heaths.
Understorey species include Pimelea linifolia, Persoonia lanceolata, Philotheca salsolifolia, Pimelea linifolia, Ricinocarpos pinifolius, Styphelia viridis, Xanthorrhoea resinosa, Haemodorum planifolium, Hypolaena fastigiata, Lepidosperma concavum, Lomandra glauca, Xanthosia pilosa, Bossiaea and Lepidosperma concavum.
Shrubs on the coastal heaths include Allocasuarina distyla, Angophora hispida, Banksia ericifolia, Conospermum taxifolium, Darwinia diminuta, Dillwynia floribunda, Epacris microphylla, Grevillea oleoides, Grevillea sphacelata, Hakea teretifolia, Isopogon anemonifolius, Leptospermum squarrosum, Leptospermum trinervium, Leucopogon microphyllus, Persoonia lanceolata, Pultenaea tuberculata and Xanthorrhoea resinifera.
Fauna
Animals include Cercartetus nanus, Phylidonyris novaehollandiae, Cercartetus nanus, Perameles nasuta, Antechinus stuartii and Perameles nasuta. New Holland Honeyeaters (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) are crucial pollinators of flowering plants in the scrubland.
See also
References
- ^ Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub of the Sydney Region Department of the Environment (Australia, 2013–2016). Retrieved 14 September 2022. Text was copied from this source, which is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- ^ Sydney Coastal Heaths. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub in the Sydney Basin Bioregion - profile Office of Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 15 September 2022.