Natural Ecosystems - Wet Forests and Rainforests

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The slow erosion of Victoria’s ranges by water and wind over millions of years has produced deeply dissected ranges in southern, central and north-eastern Victoria — the Otways, Central Highlands, Strzeleckis, Wilsons Promontory, Victorian Alps, and the mountains of far East Gippsland.

In the cool mountains and gullies on the slopes of these ranges, and in other wet areas at lower elevations, wet eucalypt forests and rainforests dominate the landscape. These awe-inspiring forests are among the great natural wonders of the continent. Here the world’s largest flowering plant, the majestic Mountain Ash, reaches as much as 100 metres high and 15 metres in circumference. At different altitudes Alpine Ash, Messmate Stringybark, Mountain Grey Gum, Manna Gum, White Peppermint, Silvertop and other eucalypts share the sky.

In the sheltered gullies and rainforests, Myrtle Beech, Sassafras, Blackwood, Lilly-pilly, Kanooka and tree-ferns provide umbrellas of shade for a wide diversity of ferns, shrubs, mosses and a myriad of other life-forms. Many of the understorey plants, such as the Soft Tree-fern and Musk Daisy-bush, survive and flourish after fires, and are often older than the dominant eucalypts. The great diversity of bird life in these forests is well known to ornithologists, and the rarity of many mammals (including one of the State’s faunal emblems, Leadbeater’s Possum) is well documented. Many of these species, including owls and gliders, have evolved to depend on old, hollow-bearing trees and standing dead trees for nesting.

The eucalypt forests have evolved in response to the gradual climatic changes which have occurred over millions of years, during which Victoria’s climate became drier and warmer. Together with the traditional use of fire by Aborigines for tens of thousands of years, this change in climate has resulted in a significant increase in the frequency and intensity of fire, for which most eucalypts are well adapted.

Most other forest plants have also adapted well to fire, having the capacity to resprout or rapidly recolonise burnt areas from seed. Rainforest plants are far less tolerant of fire, and successive fires allow fire-tolerant species, such as eucalypts, to progressively colonise rainforest margins. As a result, rainforest has become rare in Victoria.

The wildfires of 1939 burnt much of the montane forests in Victoria, and the regrowth from these fires provides a valuable source of timber. As a consequence, representative areas of montane forest are protected in National Parks and other conservation reserves, and all rainforest is now protected from harvesting.