School of Botany

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Aspects of shrub-grass dynamics on the Bogong High Plains (Subalpine), Victoria

Williams, R. J. ( 1985)

The Bogong High Plains are a series of alpine and subalpine plateaux in NE Victoria. The vegetation of the High Plains consists of woodland, heathland, grassland herbfield and wetland communities. On the better drained sites, the transition from heath dominated communities to grass dominated communities is correlated with gradients of decreasing accumulation and persistence of snow, increasing exposure to wind and low minimum air temperatures, and decreasing steepness and rockiness of terrain. In many areas, shrubs have increased in cover and abundance, especially over the last 50 years. In particular, shrubs have invaded many areas of grassland, which has resulted in an expansion of both open heath and closed heath. The High Plains have been grazed by free ranging cattle each summer since the 1850's, and a primary aim of this thesis is to investigate the dynamics of heathland and grassland, and the impact that cattle grazing has upon these two vegetation types.