Cunninghamia 1 (1): 23-34 (1981) 
23 
THE VASCULAR PLANTS OF FIVE EXCLOSURE SITES IN 
WESTERN NEW SOUTH WALES 
G. M. Cunningham & P. L. Milthorpe 
(Accepted for publication 10.7.1979) 
ABSTRACT 
Cunningham, G. M. & Milthorpe, P. L. (Soil Conservation Service of New South 
Wales, Condobolin, New South Wales, Australia 2877) 1981. The vascular plants of 
five exclosure sites in western New South Wales. Cunninghamia 1 (1): 23-34. A list 
of 401 species representing 61 families and 91 genera was recorded from five exclosure 
sites in semiarid western New South Wales. Any plants that could not be identified 
by the authors in the field were collected and determined at the National Herbarium of 
New South Wales. Duplicates of these specimens are housed at the Soil Conservation 
Office at Condobolin. Fifty-five naturalized species, mainly from the families Poaceae, 
Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Brassicaccae, were recorded. Several native species that are 
rare in the region were also found in the exclosures. A brief description of the exclosure 
sites is presented. 
INTRODUCTION 
Soil conservation in the arid and semiarid sections of New South Wales is 
vitally linked with rangeland management. Proper range management is dependent 
on a thorough knowledge of the vegetation as well as an understanding of the changes 
which occur with grazing, exlcosure or other management manipulations. Although 
the arid and semiarid rangelands of western New South Wales have been grazed for 
between 110 and 140 years there has been very little formalization of range manage¬ 
ment. 
During the early I950’s the Soil Conservation Service of New South Wales set 
up a series of exclosures at sites adjacent to the transcontinental railway line between 
Condobolin and the Darling River in western New South Wales. An additional 
exclosure was fenced at Cobar in 1963 as a site for revegetation trials. 
These exclosures were originally established to study erosion and natural re¬ 
clamation as well as to evaluate reclamation techniques and for ecological studies. 
The areas represent some of the more erosion susceptible land types in western New 
South Wales. As well as meeting these stated needs, the exclosures have, over the 
years, provided sites for botanical collection to determine the richness of the species 
assemblage within the different vegetation communities under conditions where 
domestic livestock grazing was excluded. Details of the size, location, year estab¬ 
lished, soils and vegetation communities of these exclosures are contained in Table 1 
and their location can be seen in Figure 1. 
We know little of the species which comprise each vegetation community under 
grazing, let alone prior to grazing. However, Beadle (1948) attempted to list the 
species which occurred in the major vegetation communities. 
While it may never be possible nor desirable to return to the pre-domestic grazing 
situation, since there have doubtless been many irreversible soil and vegetation 
changes, there is much value in recording the present species assemblage to provide 
a reference point for the future. 
The list (Table 2) presented here is an initial attempt to describe the species 
assemblage at each site in the hope that it will provide a basis for future ecological 
studies of these communities. 
