The Native Vegetation of NSW

The native vegetation classification system utilised and described on this site are derived from the book, "Ocean shores to desert dunes: the native vegetation of New South Wales and the ACT" by Dr David Keith, published by the NSW Government see http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/publications/ostdd.htm. The book is available through online purchase http://www.bookshop.nsw.gov.au/search.jsp?keyword=ocean+shores or major book shops.

Dr Keith grouped and mapped the vegetation of NSW into 16 broad vegetation formations. These are listed in the table below. Each of these formation consists of a number of classes of which there are 99 in total. The vegetation classification and map were compiled from a large number of regional studies, and are periodically updated as new studies become available. This site describes and displays version 2.2 of the classification and map, compiled in 2004.

By clicking on any of the vegetation formations in the table below you can obtain a description of the formation, see a map of its distribution, generate lists of threatened species, populations or communities that are found within the formation, and view the vegetation classes that comprise the formations. Selection of a class then allows the reader to obtain a detailed description of the class, a map of its distribution, photos, lists of threatened species, populations or communities that utilise the vegetation class.

Maps of the formations and classes can also be obtained from the interactive web application "NSW Native Vegetation Map". Here users can generate maps and overlay them on references layers such as a satellite image, major towns and roads, and the boundaries of Catchment Management Authorities, Local Government Areas, etc.

Vegetation Types

The finest scale of vegetation classification used in NSW is the Vegetation Type. This grouping comes under the Formation and Class levels and provides a more locally specific grouping of species that are likely to be found in an area. Listed Threatened Ecological Communities are usually made up of more than one Vegetation Type, as classified for a specific region (e.g. Illawarra region, Hunter region etc).

It is important to identify which Vegetation Type is specific to your area, you can then identify if this Vegetation Type is associated with a Threatened Ecological Community. DECC have produced a list of standardised Vegetation Types for NSW that can be used to identify vegetation in your Catchment Management Area, refer to the TEC Profile page for this information.

This and more information on Vegetation Types can be found at: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/projects/BiometricTool.htm