Castlereagh Scribbly Gum and Agnes Banks Woodlands

Castlereagh Scribbly Gum and Agnes Banks Woodlands
Ecology
RealmAustralasia
BiomeTemperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
BordersShale Sandstone Transition Forest
Geography
Area0.98 km2 (0.38 sq mi)
CountryAustralia
Elevation60–80 metres (200–260 ft)
Coordinates33°36′55″S 150°42′58″E / 33.615278°S 150.716111°E / -33.615278; 150.716111
GeologySandstone, shale
Climate typeHumid subtropical climate (Cfa)
Soil typesSand

The Castlereagh Scribbly Gum and Agnes Banks Woodlands is an endangered sclerophyll low-woodland and shrubland community found in western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.[1] Vegetation comprises low woodlands with sclerophyllous shrubs and an uneven ground layer of graminoids and forbs.

Geography

Originally at 615 hectares, it is a low woodland community measuring at only 98 hectares, where it is mostly found near Agnes Banks on the east side of the Hawkesbury River in the Penrith area. Parts of it are preserved at the Agnes Banks Nature Reserve, near Richmond. It is mostly found on the Cumberland Plain on flat or mildly undulating terrain on valley floors, in the Castlereagh area in the north-west, with minor presence near Holsworthy just outside the Cumberland Plain, Kemps Creek and Longneck Lagoon.[2]

Having low nutrient soils, it sits on wind-blown sand over the Tertiary Alluvium deposits from the Hawkesbury-Nepean River system, in areas that receives 700–900 mm annual rainfall.[2] The community morphs into the smaller, Castlereagh Swamp Woodland, a very proximate community which lies on poorly draining clay soils.[3]

Ecology

Dominant tree species include the namesake Eucalyptus sclerophylla, in addition to Angophora bakeri, Eucalyptus fibrosa, Eucalyptus parramattensis, Eucalyptus racemosa and Banksia serrata, and understorey shrubs such as, Banksia aemula, Melaleuca decora, Hakea sericea, Monotoca scoparia, Leptospermum trinervium, Banksia oblongifolia, Conospermum taxifolium, Ricinocarpos pinifolius, Dillwynia sericea and Persoonia nutans.[2]

Ground layer includes Themeda triandra, Entolasia stricta, Cyathochaeta diandra, Dianella revoluta, Lepidosperma urophorum, Stylidium graminifolium, Lepyrodia scariosa, Mitrasacme polymorpha, Trachymene incisa and Laxmannia gracilis.[3]

Fauna

Mammals include Ctenotus taeniolatus, Tiliqua scincoides, Petaurus breviceps, Myotis macropus and Trichosurus vulpecula, with frogs such as Litoria verreauxii, Crinia signifera and Limnodynastes tasmaniensis.[3]

Birds include Smicrornis brevirostris, Acanthiza reguloides and Acanthiza nana, Petrochelidon nigricans, Artamus cyanopterus, Colluricincla harmonica, Pachycephala rufiventris and Pachycephala pectoralis, Daphoenositta chrysoptera, Melanodryas cucullata, Pardalotus striatus and Pardalotus punctatus, Lichenostomus fuscus, Tyto alba, Entomyzon cyanotis and the rare Petroica goodenovii.[3]

References

  1. ^ Castlereagh Scribbly Gum and Agnes Banks Woodlands of the Sydney Basin Bioregion Department of the Environment (2022). Castlereagh Scribbly Gum and Agnes Banks Woodlands of the Sydney Basin Bioregion in Community and Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of the Environment, Canberra.
  2. ^ a b c Agnes Banks Woodland in the Sydney Basin Bioregion - profile Office of Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d CASTLEREAGH SCRIBBLY GUM AND AGNES BANKS WOODLANDS OF THE SYDNEY BASIN BIOREGION: DRAFT DESCRIPTION Department of the Environment. Retrieved 14 September 2022. Text was copied from this source, which is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.