Terrestrial Ecosystems

Ecosystems are generally recognised by the characteristic vegetation they support. Victoria’s land area supports a wider range of ecosystems than any area of a similar size in Australia: alpine, mallee, grasslands and grassy woodlands, forests, heathlands and heathy woodlands, inland waters and estuaries, and coasts.

Victorian natural ecosystems support at least:

• 3140 native species of vascular plants
• 900 lichens
• 750 mosses and liverworts
• 111 mammals
• 447 birds
• 46 freshwater and 600 marine fish
• 133 reptiles
• 33 amphibians
• an untold number of invertebrates, fungi and algae.

This richness, in the number of different ecosystems and different species, and the genetic variety they exhibit — is what we call biodiversity.

Parks play a crucial role in protecting Victoria’s ecosystems including the numerous habitats, floral and faunal communities and ecosystem services (e.g. clean air, clean water) they support.

Parks protect 93 per cent of Victoria’s native flora species and 86 per cent of native fauna species. Our ecosystems are a scientific, cultural, spiritual and economic inheritance that is distinctly Victorian, and one that we must conserve and manage for future generations.

Marine Ecosystems

Marine ecosystems are the combination of the animals and plants which depend on each other in some way that make up marine communities, and the physical environment and supports them. Victoria’s marine environment is shaped by the high energy cool waters of the Southern Ocean and the relatively calmer but warmer waters of the south-western Pacific. Our marine ecosystems have developed independently from other major marine regions of the world which has resulted in many species being found nowhere else.

Victoria’s marine ecosystems support more than 12,000 species of marine animals and plants, most of which are found nowhere else in the world