The Vegetation of Western New South Wales

Abstract

THIS account of the vegetation of the western part of New South Wales deals with an area of some 150,000 square miles. In it are described the soils, the natural vegetation, the pasture lands and the effects of grazing, and soil erosion. The country is usually referred to as the "Western Plains" and is characterized by its flatness and the paucity of mountain ranges and hills. Four large streams, the Murray, Darling, Lachlan, and Murrumbigee Rivers, pass through the region. Practically the whole is covered by recent alluvial and detrital deposits of clays, sands, gypsum, etc. In the north-west the climate is of the desert type, while the greater part is classified as steppe type. Eastwards of the steppe climatic region and extending to the coast, outside the area under consideration, is the humid climate. Water supply is the main controlling factor in the distribution of the different types of vegetation.

The Vegetation and Pastures of Western New South Wales

With special reference to Soil Erosion. By Dr. N. C. W. Beadle. Pp. 281. (Sydney : Government Printer, 1948.) n.p.