The Eucalypts of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area: distribution, classification and habitats of the species of Eucalyptus, Angophora and Corymbia (family Myrtaceae) recorded in its eight conservation reserves

摘要

The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (GBMWHA), immediately west of Sydney (33 degrees 53'S; 151 degrees 13'E), on the east coast of Australia was listed as World Heritage for its outstanding natural values, a major component of which is the high number of eucalypt species and eucalypt-dominated communities present, some 13 per cent of all eucalypt species in the world. They grow in a great variety of plant communities, from tall closed forests, through open forests and woodlands, to stunted mallee shrublands.This paper provides a definitive list of the 96 eucalypts (species of the genera Eucalyptus, Angophora and Corymbia in the family Myrtaceae), that have been recorded there (55 widespread, 41 restricted), together with the distribution of the eucalypts in the eight reserves that make up the GBMWHA, and information on the classification and habitat of the different species. The information is based on records held at the National Herbarium of New South Wales and the results of surveys by the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) over the past 20 years. The majority of species have components of both stress-tolerator and competitor ecological strategies and this has probably been a main contributor to their success. However details of the ecology of the majority of taxa are poorly-known and more research is needed to provide guidance for conservation management in the face of changing climate conditions.