Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands is one of 32 Major Vegetation Groups defined by the Australian Government

Department of the Environment and Energy The Department of the Environment and Energy (DEE) was an Australian government department in existence between 2016 and 2020. The department was responsible for matters including environment protection and conservation of biodiversity as well ...

Description

" Mallee" refers to the growth habit of a group of (mainly) eucalypt species that grow to a height of , have many stems arising from a lignotuber and have a leafy canopy that shades 30–70% of the ground. The term is also applied to a vegetation association where these mallee eucalypts grow, on land that is generally flat without hills or tall trees and where the climate is semi-arid. Of the 32 Major Vegetation Groups classified under the National Vegetation Information System, "Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands" (MVG14): * are semi-arid areas dominated by mallee eucalypts; * may also have co-dominant species of '' Callitris'', '' Melaleuca'', ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus nam ...

'' and '' Hakea''; * have an open tree or shrub layer with more than 10% foliage cover and more than 20% crown cover, distinguishing MVG 14 from "Mallee Open Woodland" (MVG14) and "Sparse Mallee Shrublands" (MVG32); * have an understorey composition strongly influenced by rainfall, soil type and fire regime; * are among the most fire prone of all plant communities in semi-arid and arid zones. The major vegetation subgroups of MVG14, based mainly on the

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

components of the understorey are: * mallee with hummock grass ('' Triodia scariosa'' and '' Triodia irritans''); * mallee with a dense, shrubby understorey; * mallee with an open shrubby understorey; * mallee with a tussock grass ('' Themeda'', '' Poa'' and '' Astrebla'' species) understorey. Mallee woodlands and shrublands occur in 39

IBRA The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities. It was deve ...

biogeographic regions.

Changes since European settlement

The present extent of this vegetation group is estimated to be about but the estimate prior to 1750 is . In 2001, the area covered by this vegetation group is estimated to be 65% of its pre-1750 coverage. The most extensive area of this vegetation association in Australia today is found in the

Great Victoria Desert The Great Victoria Desert is a sparsely populated desert ecoregion and interim Australian bioregion in Western Australia and South Australia. History In 1875, British-born Australian explorer Ernest Giles became the first European to cros ...

. Prior to 1750, the largest area is estimated to have occurred in the Murray-Darling basin. About 33% of the clearing of this vegetation type is estimated to have accounted for 10% of the total area of land clearing in Australia. In South Australia, clearing of the mallee started in the late 19th century, following the introduction of the stump-jump plough in 1876.

References

{{Reflist Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub in Australia Biogeography of New South Wales Biogeography of South Australia Biogeography of Victoria (Australia) Biogeography of Western Australia Vegetation of Australia Sclerophyll forests