Vegetation diversity

Indicator description

The diversity of vegetation types in our landscapes are often closely tied to the range of ecosystems - the variety of habitats, biotic communities and ecological processes - that are available for native plants, animals and microorganisms to live in. Vegetation types are also usually the most obvious parts of terrestrial ecosystems, so many ecosystems are described in terms of their dominant plants (e.g. grasslands, Yellow Box-Red Gum woodland).

Ecosystems can be separate from each other, but more often they overlap or they can become less clearly defined at their edges. The term habitat describes the place or type of site in an ecosystem within which an organism normally occurs.

Changes to vegetation diversity can result from natural evolutionary changes, as well as from human activities such as clearing, pollution, harvesting of native species, recreational activities.

Vegetation diversity is important to State of the Environment reporting because it indicates the condition of the natural environment, the extent to which human activities have impacted on the natural ecosystems, and how well these impacts have been moderated through management.