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Victorian Resources Online - North East

Vegetation Resources

Native Grass Pastures | EVC Group Maps

The North East region largely lies within the Northern Inland Slopes, Highlands - Northern Fall, Victorian Alps and Victorian Riverina bioregions. Smaller areas lie within the Central Victorian Uplands bioregion.

North East Victoria is a significant part of the Victorian highlands and alpine region, encompassing mountain ranges and the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. Vegetation of the highlands is dominated by Moist Foothill Forest Complexes and Dry Foothill Forests, with smaller occurrences of Lowland Forest Complexes, Heathy Woodland Complexes and Valley Grassy Forest Complexes.

The Moist Foothill Forest Complexes Broad Vegetation Type (BVT) is generally located on the protected southerly and easterly slopes and plateaux, and most commonly includes the Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs): Wet Forest, Damp Forest, Montane Wet Forest and Montane Damp Forest. The gullies and river valleys support a variety of EVCs, including Riparian Forest, Riparian Thicket and Montane Riparian Thicket. The drier, more exposed northerly and westerly slopes and ridges support several EVCs including low, dry forests such as Heathy Dry Forests, Grassy Dry Forest, Shrubby Dry Forest while Montane Dry Woodland is frequently associated with Herb-rich Foothill Forest and Shrubby Foothill Forest on gentler, more protected sites (NRE, 1997). These are common in the northern reaches of the region.


The Victorian Alps Bioregion within the North East consists of a complex mosaic of ecological communities determined by soils, climate and topography. There are treeless sub-alpine communities, grasslands, shrublands, heathlands, and bogs on the highest ground and in ‘frost hollows’ in high valleys. These areas form islands separated from each other by the sub-alpine Snowgum woodlands and, at lower altitudes, Alpine Ash forest and river valleys.

The northern plains within the North East region of Victoria consists of Plains Grassy Woodlands, Grassland Complexes, Riverine Grassy Woodland Complexes, Grassy Dry Forests, Herb-rich Foothill Forests, Montane Dry Woodlands and Shrubby Dry Forests to name a few. However, some of these communities (especially the Plains Grassy Woodlands, Grassland Complexes and Riverine Grassy Woodland Complexes) have been severely degraded since European settlement (NRE, 1997).
    Photo: Snow Gum (Eucalyptus pauciflora) on the Bogong High Plains.
    Snow Gum (    Eucalyptus pauciflora) on the Bogong High Plains.

The Biodiversity Interactive Map on the DSE website (external link) allows users to display a number of vegetation themes for any area of Victoria - including Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs), 1750 EVCs, broad EVC Groups and Bioregional Conservation Status of EVCs. Users can then print out the maps they have created.

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