THE BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GOLDFIELDS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Vegetation and Flora

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 9 years ago

Introduction: The structural formations have been described and mapped at a scale of 1: 250,000 (Beard 1972, 1978). During the present survey, 166 sites were sampled using the plotless sites releve technique. This technique, the selection of sites and the parameters recorded are detailed by the Biological Surveys Committee (1984). The sites were broadly classified on vegetation structure and plant species composition of the upper stratum into 52 types, including two vegetation complexes: Granite Complex and Breakaway Complex. The soil thickness of complexes varied from shallow to skeletal over less than a metre. The area of bare rock usually exceeded soil area. These conditions resulted in rapid changes in vegetation structure and species composition. A typical site for each vegetation type is described in Appendix I, together with relevant data on geology, landforms and soils.