| Abstract: | Sixteen sites (area 1000 m2) within the mallee region of southern Western Australia were sampled for vascular plant species richness. Species richness ranged from 17 species per 1000m2 in a Halosarcia syncarpa salt-complex site and a Eucalyptus occidentalis tree mallee site, up to 48 species per 1000 m2 in a Eucalyptus angulosa-Eucalyptus tetragona shrub mallee site. Woodland, woodland/mallee and mallee sites consisted mainly of perennial species while shrubland sites and salt-complex sites had a higher percentage of ephemeral species. Sites with the highest species richness occurred on soils with the lowest nutrient content. Sites with lowest species numbers were those with severe habitat conditions or where better nutrient conditions may have provided the dominants with a competitive advantage to suppress associated species. |
