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Study boundary Area (ha)
Hunter–Central Rivers CMa 3 592 596
Hunter and Central Coast (HCC) 3 902 172
HCC and 1.5 km buffer 4 026 761
1.4.2 Natural regions of the study area
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CHaPTeR 1 Introduction to the project
The present study area can be divided into natural regions using various approaches. In this
section an overview is provided of the study area’s constituent bioregions (Environment
Australia 2000), botanical subdivisions (Anderson 1961) and major catchments. Various sources
are available which provide detailed descriptions of each of these landscape divisions and are
included in the bibliography. This section is only intended to provide a brief description of the
extent and composition of the study area in terms of each of these systems.
1.4.2.1 Bioregions of the study area
Bioregions are natural regions defined on the
basis of various environmental parameters,
including climate, topography, geology and
lithology. Eighty-five bioregions are currently
recognised in Australia and these have been
further subdivided into 430 subregions
(Environment Australia 2000). The study area
is dominated by the North Coast (47.4%) and
Sydney Basin (39.8%) bioregions (see Figure 1.2).
Making up smaller but significant areas are the
Brigalow Belt South (9.4%) and New England
Tableland (3.0%) bioregions. The study area
also includes parts of the South Western Slopes
(0.3%) and Nandewar (0.1%) bioregions.
1.4.2.2 Botanical subdivisions of the study
area
The study area includes significant areas of five
botanical subdivisions as described by Harden
(1990), and a small area of a sixth subdivision
(see Figure 1.3). The majority of the area is
made up of the North Coast (44.1%) and
Central Western Slopes (32.2%) subdivisions
along with significant areas of the Central
Coast (11.8%), Northern Tablelands (9.4%) and
Central Tablelands (2.3%) subdivisions. The
study area, including the 1500 m buffer, also
includes a small area of the North-Western
Slopes subdivision.
Figure 1.2. Bioregions of the study area
Figure 1.3. Botanical subdivisions of the study area