Eucalypt forest fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are eucalypt forests?

Eucalypt forests are Australian ecosystems where gum trees form the main tree canopy. Many eucalypt forests have tall trees, an open canopy, a shrub layer and a ground layer of grasses, ferns, herbs, leaf litter, rocks and fallen logs.

Eucalypt forests are ecosystems because living things and non-living features interact. The living things include eucalypt trees, shrubs, grasses, fungi, bacteria, insects, reptiles, birds and mammals. The non-living features include sunlight, air, water, soil, rocks, nutrients, fire and weather.

At Field of Mars Reserve, eucalypt forest grows on shallow, sandy soils over Hawkesbury sandstone. It is one ecosystem within the wider reserve environment and contains many smaller habitats, including tree hollows, bark, flowers, shrubs, leaf litter, fallen logs and soil.

A eucalypt tree.

Eucalypt forests often have three main plant layers: a tree canopy, a shrub layer and a ground cover layer.

Where are eucalypt forests found?

Eucalypt forests grow across much of Australia, especially where there is enough rainfall to support trees. They can be found in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions, and they range from dry open forests to taller, wetter forests depending on climate, soil, landform and fire history.

Around Sydney, many eucalypt forests grow on sandstone ridges, slopes and valleys. Exposed ridges may have shorter, more open forests, while sheltered valleys can support taller, denser forests with more moisture.

Eucalypt forests grow across many parts of Australia, including temperate areas of south-eastern Australia.

What living and non-living features make up eucalypt forests?

Eucalypt forests include living things such as gum trees, banksias, wattles, grasses, ferns, vines, fungi, bacteria, mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs and invertebrates. These living things interact with non-living features such as sunlight, air, water, soil, rocks, nutrients, temperature, weather and fire.

A habitat is a specific place within the ecosystem where an organism lives and carries out activities. Tree hollows can be habitat for possums, parrots and microbats. Bark can be habitat for spiders and insects. Leaf litter, fallen logs, rocks and soil can be habitat for decomposers, skinks, beetles, ants, fungi and many other small organisms.

Eucalypt forest at Field of Mars Reserve includes living things such as trees, shrubs and ferns, as well as non-living features such as soil, rocks, sunlight and air.

What plants and animals live in eucalypt forests?

Eucalypt forests are dominated by gum trees, including local species such as Sydney red gum, scribbly gum and Sydney peppermint. The understorey may include banksias, wattles, kunzea, grass trees, bracken ferns, native vines, mat rush and native grasses. These plants are producers because they use sunlight, water, air and nutrients to grow.

Many animals live in eucalypt forests. Possums, wallabies, bandicoots, echidnas, microbats, owls, kookaburras, lorikeets, skinks, dragons, spiders, beetles, ants, cicadas and bush cockroaches all use different parts of the forest. Fungi, bacteria, worms, larvae and other small organisms break down dead matter and help return nutrients to the soil and leaf litter.

Flowering shrubs such as eggs and bacon provide nectar and pollen for insects and birds in the shrub layer.

How do living things depend on eucalypt forests?

Plants begin many food chains in eucalypt forests. A simple food chain might be tree sap → cicada → lizard → kookaburra. Eucalypt flowers provide nectar and pollen for insects, lorikeets, honeyeaters, possums and flying foxes. Leaves, seeds, bark, wood, fungi and leaf litter also provide food for different consumers.

Living things also depend on habitats and non-living conditions in the forest. Tree hollows provide nesting and shelter sites, shrubs and ground cover give animals places to hide, and leaf litter keeps soil moist for decomposers. Fungi, bacteria, worms, ants, bush cockroaches and larvae break down dead leaves, bark and wood, returning nutrients to the soil so new plants can grow.

Fungi are decomposers that break down dead wood and help recycle nutrients in eucalypt forests.

How are eucalypt forests important to Aboriginal Peoples?

Aboriginal Peoples have long cared for and learned from eucalypt forests and other bushland environments. At Field of Mars Reserve, eucalypt forest is part of Country connected to the Wallumedegal People of the Darug Nation. In Dharug language, yarra means eucalyptus or gum tree.

Public sources record eucalypt bark, timber, leaves and gum being used by Aboriginal Peoples in different parts of Australia for items such as canoes, shields, tools, containers and medicines. These uses vary between places, language groups and families, so this information should be understood as part of broader Aboriginal knowledge rather than a complete account of all cultural knowledge about eucalypt forests.

Gum trees are part of Aboriginal cultural knowledge, language and Country in many parts of Australia.

Why are eucalypt forests important?

Eucalypt forests support biodiversity by providing many habitats in one ecosystem. Flowers, leaves, bark, branches, hollows, shrubs, grasses, rocks, fallen logs, soil and leaf litter all support different organisms. Old trees are especially important because hollows can take a long time to form and are used by many mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates.

Eucalypt forests also help protect soil from erosion, store carbon in wood and soil, recycle nutrients and influence local water and temperature conditions. They are important places for learning, fieldwork, recreation and cultural connection.

Rainbow lorikeets feed from eucalypt flowers and can help move pollen between trees.

What threatens eucalypt forests?

Eucalypt forests can be affected by clearing, urban development, roads and fragmentation. When forests are broken into smaller patches, animals may find it harder to move safely between feeding, shelter and breeding habitats.

Other threats include weed invasion, stormwater runoff, nutrient pollution, rubbish, trampling, erosion, feral animals, roaming pets, loss of hollow-bearing trees, climate change and changed fire regimes. Fire is a natural part of many eucalypt forests, but fires that are too frequent, too intense or too rare can change the forest structure and reduce the survival of some species.

Fire is part of many eucalypt forests, but changed fire patterns can affect forest structure, habitat and recovery.

How can you help eucalypt forests?

You can help protect eucalypt forests by staying on tracks, taking rubbish home, leaving plants, animals, rocks, logs, bark and leaf litter where they are, and avoiding disturbance to wildlife. Fallen logs, dead branches and leaf litter are important habitats and should not be removed from bushland.

At school or home, you can plant local native species where suitable, reduce pollution entering stormwater drains, keep pets away from wildlife, learn about local ecosystems and support bushcare activities. You can also help by learning about Aboriginal cultural knowledge in respectful ways and sharing accurate information about local bushland.

Staying on marked bush tracks helps protect fragile plants, leaf litter, soil and small forest habitats.

Related fact sheets

Environments and ecosystems

• Ecosystem and environment fact sheets – Explore more Field of Mars EEC fact sheets about ecosystems and environments.
• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – Learn about the wider reserve environment where local eucalypt forest grows.
• Mangrove forest fact sheet – Compare eucalypt forest with a tidal forest ecosystem.
• Coastal salt marsh fact sheet – Explore another ecosystem connected to estuaries and waterways.

Habitats

• Tree habitats fact sheet – Learn how flowers, bark, branches and hollows provide habitat.
• Leaf litter habitats fact sheet – Explore the forest floor habitat where decomposers recycle nutrients.
• Shrub habitats fact sheet – Find out how shrubs provide food, shelter and nesting places.
• Ground cover habitats fact sheet – Learn about grasses, ferns and low plants that shelter small animals.
• Rock and log habitats fact sheet – Explore cool, damp shelters for reptiles, spiders, fungi and decomposers.

Plants found in this ecosystem

• Plant fact sheets – Explore more native trees, shrubs, ferns and grasses.
• Sydney red gum fact sheet – Learn about a local gum tree that provides nectar, shade and habitat.
• Scribbly gum fact sheet – Discover a eucalypt tree found in dry Sydney bushland.
• Sydney peppermint fact sheet – Compare another eucalypt tree found at Field of Mars Reserve.
• Grass tree fact sheet – Explore a fire-adapted understorey plant.
• Bracken fern fact sheet – Learn about a fern that grows in forest understorey and ground cover habitats.
• Hairpin banksia fact sheet – Find out how a shrub layer plant supports nectar-feeding animals.

Animals in this ecosystem

• Common ringtail possum fact sheet – Learn about a tree-dwelling mammal that uses branches and hollows.
• Swamp wallaby fact sheet – Explore a plant-eating mammal of dense bushland.
• Powerful owl fact sheet – Discover a forest predator that depends on healthy food webs.
• Rainbow lorikeet fact sheet – Learn about a nectar-feeding bird that helps pollinate flowering trees.
• Eastern blue-tongued lizard fact sheet – Explore a reptile that uses ground cover, logs and leaf litter.
• Bush cockroach fact sheet – Learn about a decomposer that helps recycle leaf litter.

Food webs and ecological relationships

• Insects fact sheet – Discover pollinators, plant feeders, predators and recyclers in food chains.
• Yellow-tailed black cockatoo fact sheet – Learn about a bird that feeds on seeds and larvae in forest habitats.

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