Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 87(2), June 2004 
Table 3 
Plant community mean values for topographic position (1 - 
ridge top to 6 - rises in valley), slope (1 - flat to 3 - steep), aspect 
(16 cardinal directions), percent exposed rock, percent litter, 
percent bare ground, latitude, altitude (m), mean annual 
temperature (°C), annual temperature range (°C), mean annual 
rainfall (mm), rainfall coefficient of variation (%). Differences 
between means tested using Kruskal - Wallis non parametric 
analysis of variance (ns indicates not significant, * indicates 
P<0.05, ** indicates P < 0.01) 
Type 1 
Type 2 
Type 3 
Type 4 
Physical site parameters 
Position* 
2.9 
2.1 
2.3 
5.5 
Slope* 
2.1 
2.0 
1.5 
1.5 
Aspect" 5 
3.9 
4.1 
2.4 
2.0 
% rock** 
63.2 
57.8 
19.1 
28.8 
% litter* 
38.6 
47.8 
68.2 
46.3 
% bare"* 
22.9 
12.2 
13.6 
26.3 
Latitude" 5 
32.7132 
32.7506 
32.7370 
32.6996 
Altitude" 5 
431.4 
413.3 
414.5 
405.0 
Climate estimates 
Tann" 5 
16.2 
16.2 
16.2 
16.3 
Trange" 5 
27.1 
27.0 
27.0 
27.1 
Rann" 5 
284.2 
287.2 
287.5 
290.5 
Rev" 5 
40.7 
39.8 
40.4 
41.2 
Species richness 
27.2 
20.3 
14.4 
12.5 
No quadrats 
14 
9 
11 
4 
threatened flora and a previously uncollected species 
(Rye 2001). 
In biogeographical terms the range was most similar 
to the Bremer and Parker Ranges with high diversity of 
eucalypts, acacias and melaleucas, and low richness of 
EremophiJa spp. compared to the more northern ranges 
(Table 4). Another unusual feature of the Forrestania belt 
is the high richness (9 taxa) of Hibbertia spp, a number of 
which have been recently been named from the range 
(Wheeler 2000). 
Newbey & Hnatiuk (1988) suggested that the three 
Ironcaps (North, Middle and South) vary in species 
composition, and while the recent burn precluded 
sampling of North Ironcap during the present survey the 
results only partially support this finding. The 
community types of the banded ironstone and laterite 
outcrops (types 1 and 2) were not found to be restricted 
to particular outcrops but were widespread between 
Middle Ironcap and Hatter Hill (Fig 1), however 
community type 2 was not recorded from South Ironcap 
and the two quadrats comprising subtype lb were 
restricted to this outcrop. 
The current survey does support Newbey & Hnatiuk's 
(1988) observation that the vegetation and flora of these 
ironstones differ widely from the nearest other banded 
ironstone formation, indeed one of the subtypes of 
community 1 is characterized by a number of locally 
endemic species (Appendix 2) and nine of the ten local 
Community type 
Figure 3. Type of rock seen at the surface in each of the quadrats arranged into the four community types derived from the classification 
of the perennial plants. The rock material could either be loose or massive, the mix category were loose material to 5 cm diameter and 
included in all three of the main rock types of the area. 
54 
