Mount Annan Botanic Gardens is located in Sydney's South-West, on the Cumberland Plains. It was used for grazing, but had some remnant woodland left, and much of its 410 hectares is being regenerated to regain its original biodiversity.
The Gardens also house a Horticultural Research Lab, propagation facilities and the NSW Seedbank.
Our field trip was only one day, but we could easily have spent a week there....
The plant and animal links below are generally to Mount Annan's own site.
Controlled burn area on
previously cleared grassy woodland to remove biomass and stimulate
growth, in order to research the effects of grasslands fire on plant biodiversity. The increased light and heat from more sun exposure, and the
nutrient benefit of ash leads to germination from the existing seed
bank in the soil.
The interns and staff.
Meridolum corneovirens—the endangered Cumberland Plain Large Land Snail.
Nest of Iridomyrmex purpureus—Red and Black Meat Ant
Unlike areas of sandstone substrate, the botanical diversity of the Cumberland Plains, with its shale soil, resides primarily in ground covers.
