Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney, Australia

Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW

Woodland at Mount Annan Botanic Garden

Prior to the establishment of Mount Annan Botanic Garden in 1988, the land was part of rural holdings taken up by settlers in the early 1800s. Past land management has been patchy, and areas have been variously cleared or partly cleared, cultivated and pasture-improved, and grazed by domestic and feral animals. Farming and grazing stopped in the years leading up to 1988.

The Cumberland Plain Woodland remnants at Mount Annan appear to have been the least-disturbed areas, and since 1988  Botanic Gardens Trust scientists have been studying the ecology and monitoring change in the remnant vegetation. Results from their work and its implications for management are provided here.

The Conservation Research Woodland at Mount Annan and the vegetation monitoring program

Since 1988 we have been monitoring changes in remnant vegetation, in one remnant in particular, the Research Woodland, set aside for conservation in 1988 and containing about 10 ha of Cumberland Plain Woodland vegetation. The Research Woodland was one of the first conservation areas to be designated, as it appeared to have the best remnant native bush (including a local population of the listed rare plant, Pimelea spicata), but like other parts of Mount Annan the site has a past history of partial clearing, grazing by domestic stock, and some localised cultivation and pasture improvement.

The Research Woodland is immediately north of the Mount Annan Botanic Garden entrance gates and is accessible from Cunningham Drive.

  • Climate and habitats  - find out more about the climate and physical features of our Conservation Research Woodland study site.
  • Monitoring change in the woodland - findings from the research plots 1988-2005 - find out more about the results of our ecological monitoring work.
  • Monitoring impacting events - fire, rabbits, rainfall, seasonality
  • A year in the woodland - to give an idea of seasonal change in the woodland, here is a month by month account based on Jocelyn Howell's diary records over the period 2001-2003.

Ecology of Cumberland Plain Woodland
 Woodland conservation
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