Shrub habitat fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are shrub habitats?

Shrub habitats are places where woody plants with several stems grow between the tree canopy and the ground layer. Shrubs are usually smaller than trees and can include plants such as wattles, grevilleas, banksias, boronias and kunzea.

Shrub habitats matter because they provide food, shelter, nesting places, shade and protection for many living things. Their leaves, stems, flowers, seeds and fruits can support insects, spiders, birds, reptiles and small mammals.

In Field of Mars Reserve and other Sydney bushland, shrubs form part of the understorey layer of eucalypt forest. This layer connects trees, ground cover, leaf litter, logs, rocks and soil, creating many smaller microhabitats for animals to feed, hide, breed and move safely.

Flowering shrubs provide nectar, leaves and shelter for animals.

Wattle seed pods can provide food for animals and seeds for new shrubs.

Where are shrub habitats found?

Shrub habitats are found wherever shrubs grow as part of a plant community. In Sydney bushland they often grow beneath eucalypt trees, along walking tracks, in sunny openings, on sandstone slopes, near creek edges and between ground cover and taller trees.

Students may also observe shrub habitats in school grounds and gardens where local native shrubs have been planted. These places should be observed carefully by staying on tracks or paths, looking closely without picking flowers, and leaving animals, nests and spider webs undisturbed.

Flowering shrubs grow beneath trees and among grasses in Sydney bushland.

What living and non-living features make up shrub habitats?

The living features of shrub habitats include shrubs, flowers, leaves, roots, seeds, fruits, fungi, microbes, insects, spiders, birds, reptiles and small mammals. Some animals are easy to see, such as birds visiting flowers, while others hide among stems, leaves, bark, webs and leaf litter.

The non-living features include sunlight, shade, soil, water, air spaces, rocks, temperature and moisture. Together, these living and non-living features create sheltered spaces where organisms can feed, grow, hunt, hide and reproduce.

Flowering shrub habitats provide nectar, shelter and web spaces for small animals.

What plants and animals live in shrub habitats?

Shrub habitats can include native plants such as spider flowers, wattles, banksias, boronias, kunzea, tea-trees and native peas. These plants may provide nectar, pollen, seeds, fruits, leaves, shade and branching structures for other living things.

Animals that live in or move through shrub habitats include ants, beetles, butterflies, native bees, flower spiders, praying mantids, skinks, eastern spinebills, red wattlebirds, superb fairy-wrens and common ringtail possums. Fungi and decomposers also use dead leaves, bark and twigs that fall beneath shrubs.

Dense shrub habitats give small birds and mammals places to hide, nest and move safely.

How do animals use shrub habitats for food, shelter and breeding?

Animals use shrub habitats in many ways. Honeyeaters and insects feed on nectar and pollen, seed-eating birds may feed on seeds, and insects may feed on leaves, sap, flowers or fruit. Predators such as spiders, mantids and small birds hunt among the leaves, stems and flowers.

Shrubs also provide shelter and breeding places. Dense branches can help small birds hide from predators, build nests and move between feeding places. Common ringtail possums may use dense shrubs and trees for shelter, while spiders can attach webs to stems and flowers to catch visiting insects.

Eastern spinebills feed from flowering shrubs and may help move pollen between flowers.

How do shrub habitats change over time?

Shrub habitats change with seasons, rainfall, sunlight, flowering and fire. Some shrubs flower at particular times of year, then produce seeds or fruit. Leaves, flowers, twigs and seed pods fall to the ground and become part of the leaf litter, where decomposers help recycle nutrients.

Some shrubs resprout after fire, while others grow from seeds stored in the soil or released from seed pods after heat or drying. Over time, young shrubs can become denser, older stems may die back, and new gaps can allow seedlings and other plants to grow.

Wattle shrubs can regrow after fire, helping shrub habitats change and recover over time.

Why are shrub habitats important?

Shrub habitats are important because they add a middle layer of shelter and food between tall trees and the ground. This extra layer increases habitat diversity and helps support animals that need dense vegetation, flowers, small branches, leaves or protected spaces.

Shrubs also support food webs. Shrubs are producers that use sunlight, water, air and nutrients to grow. Insects, birds and mammals may feed on their nectar, pollen, seeds, fruits or leaves. Predators feed on smaller animals living in shrubs, while decomposers break down fallen plant material beneath them.

Spiders and other animals use shrubs as a habitat.

How can you help protect shrub habitats?

You can help protect shrub habitats by staying on tracks, walking carefully in bushland and avoiding trampling young plants. Leave flowers, seeds, bark, leaf litter, spider webs and nests in place because they provide food and shelter for living things.

Observe animals without handling them, and take photos or drawings instead of collecting plants or insects. In gardens and school grounds, planting local native shrubs can help provide habitat for birds, insects and other animals. Keeping cats contained, dogs on leads where required, and rubbish out of bushland also helps protect animals that depend on shrubs.

Staying on tracks helps protect shrubs and the animals that live among them.

Related fact sheets

More habitat fact sheets

• Habitat fact sheet – Learn how different habitat features support living things.
• Tree habitats fact sheet – Explore canopy, bark, branch and hollow habitats above the shrub layer.
• Ground cover habitats fact sheet – Learn about low plants that grow beneath and beside shrubs.
• Leaf litter habitats fact sheet – Explore the decomposing leaves and twigs that collect below shrubs.
• Rock and log habitats fact sheet – Discover shelters that often occur near shrub roots and leaf litter.
• Water habitats fact sheet – Learn how wet areas near shrubs can support frogs, insects and other animals.

Field of Mars Reserve and local environments

• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – Learn about the local reserve where shrubs form part of layered bushland habitat.
• Eucalypt forest fact sheet – Explore the forest environment where trees, shrubs, ground cover and leaf litter interact.

Plants that form habitats

• Plant fact sheets – Explore native plants that provide food, shelter and habitat for animals.
• Spider flowers fact sheet – Learn about grevillea shrubs with nectar-rich flowers that support birds and insects.
• Hairpin banksia fact sheet – Discover a flowering shrub that provides nectar, shelter and seeds.
• Old man banksia fact sheet – Learn about a banksia that provides food and shelter in Sydney sandstone bushland.
• Kunzea fact sheet – Explore a local shrub that can form dense shelter for small animals.

Animals that use this habitat

• Eastern spinebill fact sheet – Learn about a small honeyeater that feeds from flowering shrubs.
• Red wattlebird fact sheet – Explore a larger honeyeater that visits nectar-rich native plants.
• Superb fairy-wren fact sheet – Discover a small bird that uses shrubs and low vegetation for shelter.
• Common ringtail possum fact sheet – Learn about a nocturnal mammal that uses shrubs and trees for food and shelter.

Food webs and ecological relationships

• Invertebrate fact sheets – Explore small animals that live, feed, pollinate and hunt in shrub habitats.
• Insects fact sheet – Learn about insects that feed on plants, pollinate flowers and provide food for other animals.
• Flower spider fact sheet – Discover a spider that waits on flowers and leaves to catch visiting insects.

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