Factors Affecting Flora Conservation - Victorian Environmental ...

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species recorded. This richness may be
explained, in part, by a sparser upper canopy
that allows greater solar penetration to
potential basking sites. The grassy
understorey found here is an essential habitat
requirement for some species, such as the
delicate skink, eastern three-lined skink, and
growling grass frog.
Although not widespread within the study
area, rocky outcrop shmbiand appears to be
an extremely valuable habitat for reptiles.
Exfoliating granite outcrops, such as near
Tallarook, provide ideal shelter-sites for the
black rock skink, grass skink (Form A),
Cunninghams skink, and little whip snake.
The large striped skink is also confined to
rocky areas (characterised by the lack of any
overstorey) and is usually associated with a
grassy understorey. Cunninghams skink
relies upon large boulders for refuge and is
therefore restricted, in the dry forests, to
areas containing this type of microhabitat.
Species more typical of habitats at lower
altimdes (such as Bougainvilles skink,
lowland copperhead, and eastern small-eyed
snake) reach their upper altltudinal limit in
dry forests.
Plains vegetation
Four communities comprise this vegetation
category. Very little plains vegetation
remains on public land, as most has been
cleared for agriculture. Box woodland,
characterised by grey box, now occurs only
as remnants north of the Divide. Plains
grassy woodland and floodplain riparian
woodland both have an overstorey dominated
by river red gum. The latter woodland
grows along major rivers and creeks, such as
the Goulburn River and King Parrot Creek,
while the former occurs away from the
rivers, often on volcanic soUs, such as
throughout the Whittiesea area. In Appendix
V these two communities have been grouped
together under the name of floodplain
riparian w(X)dland. Wetland community
complex, which incorporates wetland areas in
die north of the stutiy area, has only been
assessed for birds.
The composition of the mammal fauna in this
vegetation category differs from that found in
higher-altitude mountain forests in a number
of ways. Several of the arboreal mammals
such as the mountain bmshtail possum.
yellow-bellied glider, and greater glider are
absent, and species such as the common
bmshtail possum, common ringtail possum,
and sugar glider predominate and reach their
highest densities here. The rare squirrel
glider has only been recorded, in the smdy
area, in box woodland near Seymour.
Floodplain riparian woodland and plains
grassy woodland, combined, support a
diverse bat fauna, with 12 species recorded.
It is the only community in the smdy area
with records ofthe little mastiff-bat, which is
characteristic of areas north of the Divide,
and both forms are found here. The largefooted
myotis lives in fictodplain riparian
woodland, where it forages over water
b