Vegetation Resources

EVC Group Maps

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.

North Central Bioregions

The North Central region lies within 8 of Victoria's Bioregions. Much of the area is part of the Goldfields and Victorian Riverina bioregions. Other bioregions include: Murray Mallee, Wimmera, Central Victorian Uplands, Victorian Volcanic Plain, Northen Inland Slopes and Murray Fans.

Prior to European settlement, the vegetation of the North Central catchment management region was a mixture of woodlands and forests occurring on the slopes and higher altitude areas of the upper catchment and lightly wooded and natural grasslands occupying the riverine plains to the north. Riverine forests dissected this landscape while much of the plains also contained a range of permanent and temporary freshwater wetlands.

Since that time, mining, timber extraction and clearing for agriculture and urbanisation have drastically altered the vegetation of the region. Only a very small percentage of native grasslands survive due to development for agriculture, while elsewhere the structure and species composition of many areas has been altered by past mining and timber harvesting practices. Much of the present vegetation of the region is under threat from a variety of sources, including weed invasions, changed fire regimes, grazing, timber utilisation and recreation.

(the former DNRE, 1997)

On a broad scale, the native vegetation of North Central can be categorised into a number of distinct types based on differences in broad landscape features and environmental regimes. Each of these broader units may be divided into a few to many Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs), which are usually delineated on the grounds of environment and landscape as for the broader descriptions but which also include considerations of life form, genera and vegetation structure.

EVC descriptions and mapping have been completed for over half of the region. These relate largely to the higher altitude upper and mid-catchment areas that were assessed as part of the Environment Conservation Council’s (ECCs) Box-Ironbark Forests and Woodlands Investigation. EVCs in the south-west of the region were mapped as part of the West Victoria Regional Forest Agreement (external link) process. EVC coverage is lacking for most of the northern plains and riverine forests of the region.

Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs) are the basic mapping units used for biodiversity planning and conservation assessment at landscape, regional and broader scales in Victoria. They are derived from large-scale forest type and plant community mapping and are presented on this website as broad EVC Group maps.

Summaries of the EVCs associated with each broader vegetation type are given below where available. Detailed EVC descriptions and maps for the North Central region can be found in Muir et al (1995), VicRFASC (2000) and ECC (2000).

Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs) associated with the following Broad Vegetation Types (BVTs) found in the North Central region today include:

Dry Foothill Forests
Shrubby Dry Forest
Heathy Dry Forest
Grassy Dry Forest
Herb-rich Foothill Forest
Rocky Outcrop Shrubland/Herbland Mosaic
Granitic Hills Woodland

Box Ironbark Forests
Box Ironbark Forest
Metamorphic Slopes Shrubby Woodland

Inland Slopes Woodlands
Granitic Hills Woodland

Herb-rich Woodlands
Alluvial Terraces Herb-rich Woodland
Hills Herb-rich Woodland
Hillcrest Herb-rich Woodland

Mallee Scrubs
Broombush Mallee

Sedge-rich Woodlands
Sedge-rich Woodland
Plains Sedgy Woodland

Plains Grassy Woodlands
Low Rises Grassy Woodland
Plains Grassy Woodland
Plains Woodland
Riverina Plains Grassy Woodland
Creekline Grassy Woodland

Plains Grasslands
Plains Grassland
Plains Grassy Wetland

Riverine Grassy Woodlands/Forests
Riverine Grassy Woodland
Riverine Sedgy Forest
Riverine Grassland
Billabong Wetland
Sand Ridge Woodland

Wimmera Mallee Woodlands
Shallow Sands Woodland
Savannah Woodland
Savannah Mallee
Plains Grassland
Alluvial Plains Shrubland
Big Mallee
Chenopod Mallee
Red Swale Mallee
Black Box Chenopod-Woodland
Black Box Wetland

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