Benson, Vegetation of Agnes Banks 
43 
MULTBET 
species 
group 
Botanical name 
Growth- 
form 
Frequency 
of occurrence 
% (24 sites) 
Regeneration 
after fire 
V = vegetative 
S = seedling 
Xanthorrhoeaccae 
7 
Lomandra cylindrica 
Gr 
33 
V 
7 
L. filiformis 
Gr 
8 
V 
4 
L. glauca .. 
Gr 
67 
V 
7 
L. longifolia 
Gr 
25 
V 
L. multiflora 
Gr 
4 
V 
Xanthorrhoea minor 
Gr 3 
67 
v 
X. resinosa subsp. resinosa 
Gr jf 
Xyridaceae 
Xyris complanata.. 
Gr 
4 
* = exotic species 
Nomenclature follows Jacobs & Pickard (in press). Eucalyptus and Angophora codings 
follow Pryor & Johnson (1971). Acacia brownii is correctly so spelled, not “brownei”. 
Growth-form: T = tree, sT = small tree, tS = tall shrub, S = shrub, sS = small shrub, 
Fb = forb, Gr = graminoid, Cl = climber, Tw = twiner. 
Regeneration after fire: ? indicates likely mode based on growth-form or on Purdie & 
Slatyer (1976). 
Table 2 shows structural data for the plant communities arranged in order of 
increasingly impeded drainage. In general structural characters measured appear 
to be correlated with this gradient. Basal area, stem density, canopy cover and bare 
ground per cent are all highest in the well drained low open-forest and woodland com¬ 
munities and decrease towards the sedgeland while ground cover density shows the 
reverse trend. Only canopy height does not follow this trend, being highest in the 
woodland communities. The low open-forest may originally have had emergent 
trees. A few stumps exist but from the small remnants surviving it is now difficult 
to be certain how common these emergent trees may have been. 
Tables 3 and 4 show basal area and densities for the tree species in these commun¬ 
ities. Again a gradient in dominance can be observed from well drained to poorly 
drained, species ordering being B. serrata-A. bakeri-E. sclerophylla-B. serratifolia- 
E. parramattensis. 
The distributions of species within a number of genera are interesting. Carolin 
(1970) pointed out that at Myall Lakes, species in the same genus frequently showed 
distinctly different habitat preferences apparently related to soil drainage, though 
possibly due to competition. At Agnes Banks there is evidently a similar situation 
with regard to the following species, Dillwynia glaberrima and D.flonbmda, Lepto- 
spermum attenuation and L. flavescens , and Banksia serrata, B. serratifoha and B. 
aspleniifolia. 
Fire also appears to be an important ecological factor. Fire has been common 
in the past. There are charcoal remains on many trees, even at sites wherp a dense 
shrub understorey and leaf litter suggest that it is some years since the last burning. 
Adaptations to fire are very common in the vegetation, and many species regenerate 
from underground perennating organs such as lignotubers or rhizomes. I he mode 
of regeneration of 65 species was recorded (Table 1). Of these, over 80 /„ of species 
showed evidence of vegetative resprouting and less than 20% regenerated by seedlings 
alone. Among these were a number of genera within which* species responded 
differently. Dillwynia floribunda. Acacia ulicifolia and Leucopogon encoules regen¬ 
erate only by seedlings but Dillwynia glaberrima , Acacia browmi, A. clongata, and 
Leucopogon virgatus may survive fire and resprout. Species relying solely on seedling 
establishment do not appear to show any preference for either more or less frequently 
burnt sites and are distributed through most plant communities. 
