Native Vegetation Group 14 - Riverine Grassy Woodlands or Forests

Back to Native Vegetation Groups for Victoria home

Riverine Grassy Woodlands or Forests Native Vegetation Map

High resolution map of Simplified Native Vegetation Group 14 [PDF File - 1013.4 KB] - includes major roads and towns.

Ecological Vegetation Class Descriptions

14.1 Riverine Grassy Woodlands or Forests - Broader plain EVC 103 Riverine Chenopod Woodland EVC 106 Grassy Riverine Forest EVC 295 Riverine Grassy Woodland EVC 663 Black Box Lignum Woodland EVC 815 Riverine Swampy Woodland

14.2 Riverine Grassy Woodlands or Forests - Creekline and/or swampy EVC 56 Floodplain Riparian Woodland EVC 68 Creekline Grassy Woodland EVC 168 Drainage-line Aggregate EVC 198Sedgy Riparian Woodland EVC 640 Creekline Sedgy Woodland EVC 659 Plains Riparian Shrubby Woodland EVC 674 Sandy Stream Woodland EVC 679 Drainage-line Woodland EVC 808 Lignum Shrubland EVC 813 Intermittent Swampy Woodland EVC 814 Riverine Swamp Forest EVC 816 Sedgy Riverine Forest EVC 823 Lignum Swampy Woodland EVC 863 Floodplain Reedbed

Bioregional Conservation Status and EVC benchmarks

14.1 Riverine Grassy Woodlands or Forests - Broader plain

EVC 103 Riverine Chenopod Woodland
Eucalypt woodland with a diverse shrubby and grassy understorey occurring on most elevated riverine terraces. Confined to heavy clay soils on higher level terraces within or on the margins of riverine floodplains (or former floodplains), naturally subject to only extremely infrequent incidental shallow flooding from major events if at all flooded.

EVC 106 Grassy Riverine Forest
Occurs on the floodplain of major rivers, in a slightly elevated position where floods are infrequent, on deposited silts and sands, forming fertile alluvial soils. A forest dominated by River Red Gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis with a groundlayer dominated by graminoids. Occasional tall shrubs present.

EVC 295 Riverine Grassy Woodland
Occurs on the floodplain of major rivers, in a slightly elevated position where floods are rare, on deposited silts and sands, forming fertile alluvial soils. A forest dominated by River Red Gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis with a groundlayer dominated by graminoids. Occasional tall shrubs present.

EVC 663 Black Box Lignum Woodland
Eucalypt-dominated shrubby woodland or open-woodland or shrubland, which can be rich in herbaceous species. Occurs on inundation-prone heavy grey soils in depressions or floodways in low rainfall areas.

EVC 815 Riverine Swampy Woodland
Eucalypt woodland above a grassy to sedgy - herbaceous ground layer, with species indicative of periodic water-logging. Occupies areas subject to shallow inundation only from higher-level flooding on riverine flood plain. Soils are typically heavy, cracking mottled grey-brown clays/clay-loams and water-retentive, often with a gilgai profile which can be wet during winter.

14.2 Riverine Grassy Woodlands or Forests - Creekline and/or swampy

EVC 56 Floodplain Riparian Woodland
An open eucalypt woodland over a medium to large shrub layer with a ground layer consisting of amphibious and aquatic herbs and sedges. Occurs along the banks and floodplains of the larger meandering rivers and major creeks, often in conjunction with one or more floodplain wetland communities. Elevation and rainfall are relatively low and soils are fertile alluviums subject to periodic flooding and inundation.

EVC 68 Creekline Grassy Woodland
Eucalypt-dominated woodland with occasional scattered shrub layer over a mostly grassy/sedgy to herbaceous ground-layer. Occurs on low-gradient ephemeral to intermittent drainage lines, typically on fertile colluvial/alluvial soils, on a wide range of suitably fertile geological substrates. These minor drainage lines can include a range of graminoid and herbaceous species tolerant of waterlogged soils, and are presumed to have sometimes resembled a linear wetland or system of interconnected small ponds.

EVC 168 Drainage-line Aggregate
Eucalypt-dominated woodland with occasional scattered shrub layer over a mostly grassy/sedgy to herbaceous ground-layer. Occurs on low-gradient ephemeral to intermittent drainage lines, typically on fertile colluvial/alluvial soils, on a wide range of suitably fertile geological substrates.

EVC 198 Sedgy Riparian Woodland
Eucalypt forest or woodland with sedge-dominated understorey. Occurs on flats along low gradient creeks and drainage lines subject to seasonal inundation and waterlogging in moderately fertile habitats.

EVC 640 Creekline Sedgy Woodland
Sedge and rush-dominated eucalypt woodland with amphibious herbs. Occurs along banks and adjacent wet flats of smaller intermittent creeks on coarse sands and stony alluvial soils and on the floodplains of larger rivers, in areas receving less than 500 mm annum rainfall.

EVC 659 Plains Riparian Shrubby Woodland
Shrub-dominated eucalypt woodland with large range of grasses, sedges and perennial herbs. Occurs on moderately fertile, relatively well-drained, sandy alluvial topsoils over heavier subsoils. Associated with Quaternary alluvial deposits along narrow, seasonal streams in plains areas receiving less than 600 mm annual rainfall.

EVC 674 Sandy Stream Woodland
Reed, sedge or shrub-dominated woodland with a large range of amphibious herbs. Occupies the beds of seasonal creeks where large amounts of course sand have been deposited by past flows, often resulting in a distinctive 'U' shape to the drainage line. Sites periodically inundated through the wetter months and soils moist throughout the year. Restricted to moderately high rainfall areas receiving more than 600 mm annual rainfall where coarse parent material is available upstream.

EVC 679 Drainage-line Woodland
Sedge and rush-dominated eucalypt woodland occurring along intermittent creeks in areas receiving less than 500 mm annual rainfall.

EVC 808 Lignum Shrubland
Relatively open shrubland of species of divaricate growth form. The ground-layer is typically herbaceous or a turf grassland, rich in annual/ephemeral herbs and small chenopods. Characterised by the open and even distribution of relatively small Lignum shrubs. Occupies heavy soil plains along Murray River, low-lying areas on higher-level (but still potentially flood-prone) terraces.

EVC 813 Intermittent Swampy Woodland
Eucalypt woodland with a variously shrubby and rhizomatous sedgy - turf grass understorey, at best development dominated by flood stimulated species in association with flora tolerant of inundation. Flooding is unreliable but extensive when it happens. Occupies low elevation areas of river terraces (mostly at the rear of point-bar deposits or adjacent to major floodways) and lacustrine verges (where sometimes localised to narrow transitional bands). Soils often have a shallow sand layer over heavy and frequently slightly brackish soils.

EVC 814 Riverine Swamp Forest
Open eucalypt forest with understorey dominated by obligate wetland species (or opportunistic annuals during sustained dry periods) and can range from closed sedgeland or herbland to grassy-herbaceous or extremely sparse and with cover primarily leaf-litter, black water or exposed alluvium. Occupies low-lying areas subject to reasonably regular flooding, typically flood-prone lower river terraces and low-lying areas adjacent to floodways through or within riverine forest.

EVC 816 Sedgy Riverine Forest
Eucalypt forest with understorey dominated by larger sedges. Understorey composition indicative of at least occasional shallow flooding and a tolerance of gaps between floods of several years. Typically on heavy soils which can become wet in winter. It is considered to occupy areas infrequently flooded and in which flood duration may be short, typically areas that are the last to flood and the first from which floods quickly recede. Soils are typically heavy clays. The major understorey species Hollow Sedge Carex tereticaulis is intolerant of total immersion (at least in turbid water).

EVC 823 Lignum Swampy Woodland
Understorey dominated by Lignum, typically of robust character and relatively dense (at least in patches), in association with a eucalypt and/or acacia woodland. The ground layer includes a component of obligate wetland flora that is able to persist even if dormant over dry periods.

EVC 863 Floodplain Reedbed
A closed to open grassland, dominated by Common Reed Phragamites australis. Small aquatic and semi-aquatic species occur amongst the reeds. It occurs on swamps on river plains, especially the lower reaches of the floodplain. Soils are Quaternary stream alluvium with floodplain and low level terrace deposits consisting of silt, clay and peat. Swamp Paperbark Melaleuca ericifolia frequently fringes the margins of these reed beds.

Page Top

Bioregional Conservation Status and EVC benchmarks