The Victorian Volcanic Plain Grasslands are a critically endangered

temperate grassland Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The predominant vegetation in this biome consists of grass and/or shrubs. The climate is temperate and ranges from semi-arid to semi ...

s that occur in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, stretching from

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

in the northwest to the city of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Part of the Southern Volcanic Plain and bordering the

Gippsland Plains Grassy Woodland The Gippsland Plains Grassy Woodland is an ecological temperate grassland community located in the Gippsland region in southern Victoria, Australia. Stretching from Bairnsdale in the east to the eastern portion of Melbourne in the west, they typ ...

to the east, the grasslands sit on

Cainozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configura ...

volcanic deposits. In 2011, the

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...

had reserved 15,000 hectares of land to protect the critically endangered community.The Western Grassland Reserves
Biodiversity of the Western Volcanic Plains. Retrieved 3 September 2022. Only less than 5% of the pre-European concentration of the

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s remain.Natural Temperate Grassland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain

Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts was an Australian Government department that existed between December 2007 and September 2010. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocatio ...

. Retrieved 3 September 2022. CC-BY icon

Text was copied from this source, which is available unde
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Geography

ISS055-E-114721 - View of Victoria, Australia

The Victorian grasslands stretch west, from Melbourne (around Doreen) in the east, to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in the southwest, reaching the border of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, on a flat to mildly undulating country at low altitudes, where they feature a belt around wide, covering approximately 20,000 square kilometres. The soils in the grassland are susceptible to cracking during

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

and being miry in wet periods.

Grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

and

bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

have an impact as well. 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

wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...

s (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 to a year.

Biodiversity

In addition to

Kangaroo grass } ''Themeda triandra'' is a species of perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and re ...

, Plume grass, Wallaby-grasses and

Spear grass Spear grass or speargrass is the common name of numerous herbaceous plants worldwide including: Poaceae (grasses) *''Aristida'' spp. *''Heteropogon contortus'' *''Imperata cylindrica'' *''Piptochaetium'' *''Poa'' spp. *''Stipa'' spp.; typically ''S ...

es, the area includes Spiny Rice flower, common tussock grass, Hoary Sunray,

Eryngium ovinum ''Eryngium ovinum'', commonly known as the blue devil, is a plant species native to Australia. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q3057581 ovinum Flora of New South Wales Flora of South Australia Plants described in 1825 ...

Acaena echinata ''Acaena echinata'', commonly known as sheep's burr, is a species of perennial herb, in the Rosaceae family, native to Australia. Description It grows to a height of 25–40 cm and has shiny, green fern-like leaves 60–150 mm long ...

, Button Wrinklewort, Leptorhynchos squamatus,

purple clover ''Purple Clover'' is an English language news and lifestyle online magazine aimed at an audience 50 years and older. It is owned by Whalerock Industries. The website was launched in 2013. Background ''Purple Clover'' was launched in July, 2013. ...

, Convolvulus angustissimus,

Schoenus apogon ''Schoenus apogon'', known as common bog-rush, is a species of sedge native to eastern Australia, New Zealand and Japan. A tufted annual grass-like plant growing to 55 cm tall. Often seen in seasonally wet habitats. A species of variable fo ...

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 ''Microtis unifolia'', commonly known as the common onion orchid, is a species of orchid occurring from south China to Japan, Malesia, and Australasia to the Southwest Pacific. It has a single green leaf and up to one hundred small green or yell ...

and

Drosera peltata ''Drosera peltata'', commonly called the shield sundewSalmon, Bruce. 2001. ''Carnivorous Plants of New Zealand''. Ecosphere Publications. or pale sundew,Erickson, Rica. 1968. ''Plants of Prey in Australia''. Lamb Paterson Pty. Ltd.: Osborne Park, ...

. In drier regions,

Chrysocephalum apiculatum ''Chrysocephalum apiculatum'', known by the common names common everlasting and yellow buttons, is a perennial herb native to southern Australia. It is a member of the Asteraceae, the daisy family. The name "everlasting" was inspired by its use a ...

and Calocephalus citreus are more common. Native animals include

Striped Legless Lizard The striped legless lizard (''Delma impar'') is a species of lizards in the Pygopodidae family endemic to Australia. As of 2015 it is threatened with extinction, with few habitats left. The lizard is up to 30 cm in length.Department of Envi ...

, Tussock Skink,

Common Dunnart The slender-tailed dunnart (''Sminthopsis murina''), also known as the common dunnart in Australia, is a dasyurid marsupial. It has an average body length of 7 to 12 centimeters (2.8–4.7 in) with a tail length of 5.5 to 13 centim ...

Southern Grass Skink There are two species of skink named southern grass skink: * ''Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii The southern grass skink (''Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii)'' is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia, where it is ...

Eastern Barred Bandicoot The eastern barred bandicoot (''Perameles gunnii'') is a nocturnal, rabbit-sized marsupial endemic to southeastern Australia, being native to the island of Tasmania and mainland Victoria. It is one of three surviving bandicoot species in the ge ...

, Golden Sun Moth,

Growling Grass Frog The growling grass frog (''Ranoidea raniformis''), also commonly known as the southern bell frog, warty swamp frog and erroneously as the green frog, is a species of ground-dwelling tree frog native to southeastern Australia, ranging from sout ...

, eastern grey kangaroo and

grassland earless dragon ''Tympanocryptis'' is a genus of Australian lizards in the Family (biology), family Agamidae commonly known as earless dragons. Description The genus ''Tympanocryptis'' has the following characters. The tympanum is hidden (hence the common name ...

.Victorian Volcanic Plains
by

Greening Australia Greening Australia is an Australian environmental organisation, founded in 1982, the International Year of the Tree, to protect, restore and conserve Australia's native vegetation. Greening Australia was formed by the United Nations Association ...

. Retrieved 3 September 2022.

References

External links

Victorian Volcanic Plain bioregionNatural Temperate Grassland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain
{{Australasia grasslands navbox Geography of Melbourne Grasslands of Australia Remnant urban bushland Vegetation of Australia Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Environment of Victoria (Australia) Endangered Ecological Community