Plant communities of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Native vegetation of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment in southeast NSW and the Australian Capital-Territory (ACT) was classified into 75 plant communities across 18 NSW Vegetation Classes within nine Structural-Formations. Plant communities were derived through numerical analysis of 4,106 field survey plots including 3,787-plots from 58 existing survey datasets and 319 new plots, which were sampled in under surveyed ecosystems. All plant-communities are described at a level appropriate for discrimination of threatened ecological communities and distinct-vegetation mapping units. The classification describes plant communities in the context of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment and surrounding-landscapes of similar ecological character. It incorporates and, in some instances, refines identification of plant-communities described in previous classifications of alpine vegetation, forest ecosystems, woodlands and grasslands-across the Australian Alps and South Eastern Highlands within the upper Murrumbidgee catchment. Altitude,-precipitation, soil saturation, lithology, slope, aspect and landscape position were all important factors in guiding-plant community associations. Nine Threatened Ecological Communities under Commonwealth, NSW and ACT legislation occur in the upper-Murrumbidgee catchment. This study has also identified five additional plant communities which are highly restricted-in distribution and may require active management or protection to ensure their survival.