Ecological Communities

• Introduction
• Contact

Introduction

Gibber plains cover the driest part of Australia. (Photo: Peter Canty)

In any area of the natural world, wildlife (plants and animals) do not live in isolation. All are linked, often in quite a complex way, through what has become known as the ‘Web of Life’. Within this web, it is possible to recognise particular groups of plants and animals that more often than not are associated together and these are called ‘ecological communities’ or ‘ecosystems’.

You will be introduced to the range of ecological communities in South Australia from the arid gibber plains of the driest part of the Australian continent to the wetter areas that support the last remnants of our open forests. Here you will learn about how the Biological Survey of South Australia is discovering more about our plants and animals and how they all fit together. You can learn about how vegetation maps are produced. These maps provide the best way developed to date, to show how these communities are spread across the landscape. At the other extreme from the natural world of South Australia of course are the cleared and developed areas of our agricultural lands, towns and cities. Even in these much-changed areas some of Australia’s original plants and animals survive and these need our particular attention if they are to continue to share these areas with us.

Remnant forests are found in the higher rainfall parts of the State. (Photo: Tony Robinson)		Spectacular arid mountain ranges with sheltered waterholes support specialised ecological communities. (Photo: Peter Copley)

Contact

A Robinson