How do native animals use ground covers?
Leaf litter, fallen branches and logs cover the ground in a eucalypt forest.
Animals such as brush turkeys and bandicoots rely on this area for food and shelter. Invertebrates such as millipedes, worms and termites play an important part in recycling dead plant material on the ground.
Activity
- View the Ground cover layer video.
- Go outside. Using a stick, dig around in the soil, mulch or leaf litter near you.
- Observe any animals that you see. Don't touch anything with your hands.
A blue tongue lizard sheltering under Dianella plants
What animals use ground cover plants?
Ground cover plants include grasses, herbs, mosses and ferns. Animals such as blue tongue lizards shelter under native grasses. Birds eat the grass seeds and berries and use the narrow leaves for nesting materials.
Activity
- Find a ground cover plant in your garden, school or local bush.
- Sketch or take a photo of the plant. Draw an animal that would use the plant as a shelter.
Pollinators | Field of Mars EEC (0:33sec) | YouTube
How do native animals use the shrub layer?
The shrub layer contains flowering plants such as banksias, grevilleas and wattles.
Animals such as the superb fairy wren, orchard butterfly and blue banded bee use shrubs for habiat. These animals rely on shrubs for food and protection. They are important for plant pollination and seed dispersal.
Activity
- View the video Pollinators. How many animals did you see and hear?
- Find a flower in your garden, school or local bush. If you cannot access a flower use a picture of a native flower.
- Use the pollination chart to discover what animals would pollinate the flower you found.
How does the tree canopy support native animals?
The canopy creates important highways for animals such as possums, gliders and koalas to travel from tree to tree without needing to come down to the forest floor.
Trees can develop tree hollows as they age. This provides nesting sites for birds, mammals and reptiles.
Activity
- View the The tree canopy layer video.
- Go outside and observe a tree.
- Take photos of evidence of animals such as scratch marks, animal trails or scats (droppings)?
- Use PicCollage or a similar app to create a collage of animal evidence.
