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Soils and vegetation of central Australian sandridges III. Sandridge vegetation of the Simpson Desert
Author(s) -
BUCKLEY R.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
australian journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 0307-692X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1981.tb01495.x
Subject(s) - vegetation (pathology) , floristics , transect , swale , geology , ecology , belt transect , physical geography , geography , species richness , paleontology , oceanography , biology , surface runoff , medicine , pathology , stormwater
This is the third of a series of papers describing the soils and vegetation of the central Australian sandridges and their interrelations. It details topographic—floristic patterns on fourteen transects at seven sites in the northwest, southwest and southeast Simpson Desert. There is a consistent vegetational zonation on the main Simpson sandridges, with regional modifications due to the broad scale NW‐SE floristic gradient. Closer dunes have more similar vegetation than distant ones. Swale vegetation is less consistent than sandridge vegetation and depends on soil type. Species differ greatly in their degree of restriction both topographically and geographically. Zone separation differs greatly between dunes in consequence. Zones defined on overall floristics are less clearly separated in the Simpson than in the western deserts. A floristically and structurally distinct crest zone is recognizable on all main dunefield sandridges. The only universally applicable zonation is swale, flank, crest. Vegetation patterns are more closely correlated with field soil texture than with topography.