List of Major Vegetation Groups in Australia facts for kids
This article is about the Major Vegetation Groups and Subgroups in Australia. These are special ways that scientists and the government, like the Department of the Environment and Energy, sort and describe all the different kinds of plants growing across Australia. They use a system called the National Vegetation Information System to do this.
These plant groups help us understand Australia's many different plant environments. They cover huge areas and often include several types of plant communities. They were first created for the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001. The most recent update, version 6.0, came out in 2020.
Australia's Main Plant Groups
In version 6.0, there are 33 Major Vegetation Groups. These groups include all sorts of natural plant areas. They also include some categories for places where we don't have information, or where there aren't many plants.
Here are some of the main plant groups you can find:
- Rainforests and Vine Thickets
- Eucalypt Tall Open Forests
- Eucalypt Open Forests
- Eucalypt Low Open Forests
- Eucalypt Woodlands
- Acacia Forests and Woodlands
- Callitris Forests and Woodlands
- Casuarina Forests and Woodlands
- Melaleuca Forests and Woodlands
- Other Forests and Woodlands
- Eucalypt Open Woodlands
- Tropical Eucalypt Woodlands/Grasslands
- Acacia Open Woodlands
- Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands
- Low Closed Forests and Tall Closed Shrublands
- Acacia Shrublands
- Other Shrublands
- Heathlands
- Tussock Grasslands
- Hummock Grasslands
- Other Grasslands, Herblands, Sedgelands and Rushlands
- Chenopod Shrublands, Samphire Shrublands and Forblands
- Mangroves
- Inland Aquatic - freshwater, salt lakes, lagoons
- Cleared, non-native vegetation, buildings
- Unclassified native vegetation
- Naturally bare - sand, rock, claypan, mudflat
- Sea and estuaries
- Regrowth, modified native vegetation
- Unclassified forest
- Other Open Woodlands
- Mallee Open Woodlands and Sparse Mallee Shrublands
- Unknown data
Smaller Plant Subgroups
The Major Vegetation Subgroups are used for more detailed maps and for looking closely at specific regions. They help scientists understand the plants in a smaller area.
Version 6.0 has 85 subgroups. In an older version (3.1 from around 2007), there were fewer. Here are a few examples of these subgroups:
- Cool temperate rainforest
- Tropical or sub-tropical rainforest
- Eucalyptus tall open forest with a dense broad-leaved understorey (wet sclerophyll)
- Eucalyptus open forests with a grassy understorey
- Eucalyptus woodlands with a shrubby understorey
- Hummock grasslands
- Mangroves
- Saltbush and Bluebush shrublands
- Freshwater, dams, lakes, lagoons or aquatic plants
- Sea, estuaries (includes seagrass)
- Regrowth or modified forests and woodlands
- Cleared, non-native vegetation, buildings
- Unknown/No data
