Forest and woodland habitats

Forests & Woodlands

Forest and woodland communities border Sydney on three sides and contain an enormous diversity of plant types, which, in turn provide excellent habitat for wildlife.

Generally, forests have quite a dense foliage cover while woodlands have somewhere between 10 and 30 per cent foliage cover.

Forest and woodland areas in Sydney can be divided into the following types:

• Dry Sclerophyll Forest
• Wet Sclerophyll Forest
• Turpentine-Ironbark Forest
• Cumberland Plain Woodlands
• Castlereagh Woodlands

A great amount of wildlife can be found in these habitats. These include mammals such as gliders and wallabies, reptiles such as goannas and snakes and a variety of birdlife. There are also many small and fascinating invertebrates such as centipedes, flies and beetles, that live in these habitats.

Unfortunately, since European settlement in 1788, the area covered by forests and woodlands in Sydney has been drastically reduced. Much of this area has been cleared for urban development resulting in many species extinctions.