Open Access

Geoff E. Burrows

• A presence/absence survey of 25 remnant vegetation sites, principally Nature Reserves and State Forests, was carried out in the South Western Slopes (SWS) of New South Wales. A total of 658 taxa were recorded of which 188 (29%) were exotics. Eleven sites had an overstorey dominated by Callitris glaucophylla or Eucalyptus camaldulensis and 14 sites had an overstorey dominated by various eucalypt species such as Eucalyptus blakelyi, Eucalyptus goniocalyx, Eucalyptus macrorhyncha, Eucalyptus polyanthemos, Eucalyptus rossii and Eucalyptus sideroxylon. The Callitris glaucophylla/Eucalyptus camaldulensis dominated sites were in the western half of the region, were flatter and at lower elevation (average minimum and maximum elevations were 191 and 214 m, respectively), were smaller (average area 646 ha), were usually grazed more intensely, had a smaller average number of species per site (151) and a larger average percentage of introduced species (40%). In contrast, the sites dominated by various eucalypt species were usually in the eastern half of the region, had greater relief and were at higher elevation (average minimum and maximum elevations were 294 and 520 m, respectively), were larger (average area 1161 ha), were usually grazed less intensively, had a larger average number of species per site (179) and a smaller average percentage of introduced species (27%). This study provides the first published set of relatively comprehensive species lists for the SWS and has provided information relevant to species distribution, proportion of introduced species in the flora, threatened species, areas of conservation significance and directions for future research.