Tree habitat fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are tree habitats?

Tree habitats are places in and around trees where living things can feed, shelter, breed, grow, hide or move. A single tree can contain many smaller habitats, including leaves, flowers, bark, branches, hollows, roots, dead wood and shaded spaces under the canopy.

Trees are habitats because they meet the needs of many organisms. Birds may perch, feed or nest in branches. Possums may shelter in hollows or build dreys. Insects, spiders and skinks may live on bark, under loose bark or inside cracks and hollows.

Tree habitats are not the same as whole ecosystems. A tree habitat is a specific place where organisms live. A eucalypt forest is a broader ecosystem made up of many interacting living things and non-living features. At Field of Mars Reserve and in nearby Sydney bushland, tree habitats occur within eucalypt forest, creekline vegetation, gardens, parks and school grounds.

A tree habitat can include leaves, flowers, bark, branches, hollows and shaded spaces.

Dead standing trees can still provide perches, hollows and sheltered places for wildlife.

Where are tree habitats found?

Tree habitats are found wherever trees grow. They occur in bushland, forests, woodlands, wetlands, creeklines, gardens, parks and school grounds. In Sydney bushland, tree habitats may include eucalypts, paper-barks, she-oaks, wattles, banksias and other native trees.

At Field of Mars Reserve, tree habitats are part of the local bushland environment. Students may observe tree trunks, bark, branches, flowers, leaves, hollows and fallen material from marked tracks without climbing trees, removing bark or disturbing animals.

Crimson rosellas use tree branches for perching and may nest in hollows.

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

Living features of tree habitats include leaves, flowers, fruit, seeds, bark, roots, fungi, microbes, insects, spiders, reptiles, birds and mammals. Trees also support organisms that are difficult to see, such as larvae living under bark, fungi breaking down dead wood and tiny invertebrates sheltering in cracks.

Non-living and once-living features include sunlight, shade, temperature, moisture, air spaces, hollows, bark texture, dead wood and soil around the roots. Together, these living and non-living features create microhabitats where organisms can feed, shelter, hunt, grow and reproduce.

Flowering trees provide nectar and pollen for insects and other animals.

Tree bark provides hunting and shelter places for spiders, insects and other small animals.

What plants and animals live in tree habitats?

Trees such as Sydney red gums, scribbly gums, Sydney peppermints, paper-barks, wattles and she-oaks can form important tree habitats in Sydney bushland. Other plants and fungi may also grow on or around trees, including mosses, lichens, vines, seedlings and fungi in damp or decaying areas.

Many animals live in tree habitats. Birds such as kookaburras, rosellas and lorikeets may perch, feed or nest in trees. Possums, microbats, skinks, spiders, beetles, ants, cicadas, bees and other invertebrates may use bark, hollows, flowers, leaves, branches or roots.

Kookaburras use tree branches as perches for hunting and resting.

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

Animals use tree habitats in many ways. Flowers provide nectar and pollen for insects, lorikeets, honeyeaters, possums and flying foxes. Leaves, sap, seeds, bark and wood can provide food for plant-eating animals and insects. These animals may then become food for spiders, predatory insects, reptiles and birds.

Trees also provide shelter and breeding places. Branches offer perches and movement pathways. Dense foliage can hide animals from predators. Hollows can shelter possums, parrots, microbats, reptiles and many invertebrates. Ringtail possums may build dreys from twigs and leaves in tree branches.

Ringtail possums can build dreys from twigs and leaves in tree branches.

How do tree habitats change over time?

Tree habitats change as trees grow, flower, seed, shed bark, drop leaves and produce new branches. As trees become older, cracks, loose bark, broken branches and small hollows may form. Many useful hollows take decades to form, and larger hollows are usually found in older trees.

Dead trees can still be important habitat. Standing dead trees may provide perches, cracks and hollows. Over time, dead branches may fall and become part of log, leaf litter and soil habitats where fungi, termites, beetles and other decomposers recycle nutrients.

Tree hollows and cracks can shelter reptiles such as skinks.

Why are tree habitats important?

Tree habitats are important because they support biodiversity. A single tree can provide food, shelter, nesting sites, perches, shade and movement pathways for many different organisms. Flowers, leaves, bark, hollows, branches, roots and dead wood each support different parts of food webs.

Tree habitats also help other habitats. Tree canopies shade the ground, roots help hold soil in place, flowers support pollinators, and falling leaves and bark add material to leaf litter. Dead wood and hollows can support decomposers, reptiles, mammals, birds and invertebrates.

Tree hollows provide shelter and breeding places for hollow-using animals.

How can you help protect tree habitats?

You can help protect tree habitats by staying on tracks, leaving bark, branches, flowers, seeds, hollows, logs and leaf litter in place, and observing animals without touching or disturbing them. Do not climb habitat trees, carve into bark, break branches or collect living things.

At home or school, plant local native trees where suitable, keep cats contained and dogs under control, reduce litter and avoid damaging young seedlings. Nest boxes can provide artificial shelter where natural hollows are missing, but they should be designed, installed and maintained by trained adults because different animals need different hollow sizes and positions.

Nest boxes can provide artificial shelter when suitable natural hollows are missing.

Related fact sheets

More habitat fact sheets

• Habitat fact sheet – Learn how different habitats provide food, shelter and breeding places for living things.
• Shrub habitats fact sheet – Explore the plant layer beneath trees that provides flowers, shelter and nesting places.
• Ground cover habitats fact sheet – Learn about grasses, ferns and low plants below tree canopies.
• Leaf litter habitats fact sheet – Explore fallen leaves, bark and twigs beneath trees.
• Rock and log habitats fact sheet – Discover shelters formed by fallen branches, logs and rocks.
• Water habitats fact sheet – Learn about ponds, creeks and wetlands near tree habitats.

Habitats and ecosystems

• Eucalypt forest fact sheet – Explore the forest ecosystem where many tree habitats occur.
• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – Learn about local bushland where tree habitats support native wildlife.

Plants that form tree habitats

• Plant fact sheets – Browse native plant fact sheets from Field of Mars EEC.
• Sydney red gum fact sheet – Learn about a local gum tree that provides flowers, bark, shade and habitat.
• Scribbly gum fact sheet – Discover a eucalypt tree with bark habitat, flowers and hollows.
• Sydney peppermint fact sheet – Compare another eucalypt tree found in local bushland.
• Paper-bark tree fact sheet – Explore a tree that grows near creeklines and wet areas.

Animals that use tree habitats

• Common brushtail possum fact sheet – Learn about a tree-climbing mammal that shelters in hollows.
• Common ringtail possum fact sheet – Explore a possum that uses tree branches, leaves and dreys.
• Laughing kookaburra fact sheet – Discover a bird that perches on branches to watch for prey.
• Crimson rosella fact sheet – Learn about a parrot that feeds in trees and may nest in hollows.
• Rainbow lorikeet fact sheet – Explore a nectar-feeding bird that visits flowering trees.

Food webs and ecological relationships

• Insects fact sheet – Discover pollinators, plant feeders, predators and decomposers that use trees.
• Cicada fact sheet – Learn about sap-feeding insects that climb tree trunks to emerge as adults.
• Yellow-tailed black cockatoo fact sheet – Learn about a forest bird that feeds on seeds and wood-boring larvae.

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