Vegetation

Vegetation: What Grows Where?

The types of vegetation that grows in an area is determined by:

Soil Types

There are three main types of soil. Choose one article to view. They explain about the three main types of soil: clay, sand and loam.

Quick Read

James wonders what it is like underground. He explores the soil and all the living things in and around it. This colourful text is a great example of literary non-fiction: it explains true information by telling stories. It is on the year 3-4 Premier's Reading Challenge list.

Find it in the BPS library non-fiction section at 631.4 GRO. Click the cover image to see it in Oliver.

Up for a Challenge?

This WorldBook Online article about the make-up of soil gives a more detailed explanation of how soil is made. Remember to use our BPS Library log in details. As you read, think about the type of soil in areas you know. Does the bushland in the valley behind our school have the same type of soil as our playground on the ridge? What about the soil in our school vegetable gardens?

Top Tip

Good inquirers think about what they are reading and add new information to things they already know.

As you read, think about what type of soil plants would like best. If they are in good soil, would they grow bigger? What might happen to their roots? Do you think they number, size and variety of plants would change depending on soil type?

Describing Vegetation

Vegetation is often described by its height, how closely together the plants grow and how many trunks or stems they have.

Tree: Usually more than 5m tall. One trunk.

Shrub: Less than 8m tall. Lots of stems or trunks coming out from the bottom.

Herb/grass: Usually short. Grows along the ground with long blades standing up from a stem that travels across the ground.

The big vegetation zones are named after the most common plant type in the area.

Woodlands have mostly well spaced trees, shrublands have mostly shrubs etc. Forests are where lots of types of plants grow all mixed up and close together.

Simplified vegetation map of Australia. Shows areas broadly similar to topographical and biome maps. A large area of shrubland crosses the middle third of Australia from the west coast to the NSW border. This is surrounded on three sides by woodlands. A stripe of open forest follows the east coast, the northerly part of the Northern Territory and parts of south eastern Queensland. Areas of closed forest exist in pockets on the east coast and are more prominent in Tasmania. Herb or grassland lies in western Queensland.

Australian National Botanical Gardens

Check for understanding

Identifying Vegetation Types

Look through these images. See if you can identify which vegetation zone is shown in each one.

Check with a friend. Do they agree? What are the features that gave the clues?

Top Tip

Good inquirers use picture clues to work things out or check their understanding. Then they check other sources to make sure they are correct.

Just for fun!

Good inquirers apply their knowledge to their everyday lives and take experience from their everyday lives to enrich their inquiry.

You might enjoy a search and find activity with Great Planet Earth Search by Emma Helbrough and illustrated by Ian Jackson. Find it in the BPS Library non-fiction section: NON 793.73 HEL. It's on the Premier's Reading Challenge list!

Eucalyptus Trees

Eucalyptus trees are very important to Australian biomes. Eucalyptus trees are native to Australia and are a family of trees sometimes called gum trees.

Choose one article to read about eucalyptus trees.

Just the Facts

Read about eucalyptus trees on Britannica Kids. Think about the uses of eucalyptus trees. Do different living things use the trees in different ways? Why do you think it is important to look after our eucalypt forests?

Up for a Challenge?

Gum tree is another name for several types of eucalyptus trees. Watch Clarence Slockee explain why gum trees are valuable to Eora and Dharag people. Our school is on Dharag lands and has many fine gum trees. Can you identify them?

Top Tip

Good inquirers think about things from lots of points of view. What would be valuable about eucalyptus trees if you were a builder? What if you were a koala? A doctor? A Dharag person? A farmer?

You might like to do some creative writing to explore the views and opinions of different characters.

Are there any points of view that are directly opposite?

Reforestation in China

The Gobi desert in the north of China has been expanding for many years and taking up land that China needs for farms. The Chinese government is solving this problem with an ambitious tree planting program. But is it a good plan?

As you watch, note the answers to these questions:

Why has the Gobi desert been expanding?
How will extra trees solve the problem?
Most of the trees are the same type. Is this a good idea? Why or why not?

Page updated

Report abuse