page_title: Cumberland Plain Woodland
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Cumberland Plain Woodland / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: Adams Road, looking east toward Luddenham township
context_page_description: The Cumberland Plain Woodland is one of six main indigenous woodland communities of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that comprises an open tree canopy, a groundcover with grasses and herbs, usually with layers of shrubs and/or small trees. Situated in the Cumberland Plain, it is made up of dry sclerophyll woodlands, grasslands and/or forests, reminiscent of Mediterranean forests and temperate grasslands. Currently, less than 6% of the Woodlands remain in small parts distributed across the western suburbs of Sydney, totaling only around 6400 hectares.
  Cumberland Plain Woodland was listed as an Endangered Ecological Community under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 in June 1997. The greatest threats to the Cumberland Plain Woodland include land clearing for agriculture, urban sprawl and the introduction of harmful weed species.
context_section_description: In 1877, Cumberland Plain Woodlands covered 107,000 hectares and filled around 30% of the Sydney Basin. At the time of European settlement, the Cumberland Plain contained 1,070 km² of woodlands and forests. The westward expansion of Sydney over the plain has placed enormous pressure on the woodlands and other local ecological communities, only 13% of which remain uncleared.
  Situated in the cities of Fairfield, Liverpool, Cumberland, Campbelltown, Blacktown and Penrith, and surrounds, they contain approximately 2000 ha (one-fifth) of the remaining Cumberland Plain Woodland. The ecoregion contains clay soils derived from Wianamatta Shale. The ecoregion is located on a rain shadow area, usually getting 700–900 mm of annual rainfall, to the west of Sydney CBD. Its range does not extend to slightly wetter Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest, or high-rainfall ridges (such as Blue Gum High Forest in the upper North Shore).
  The biotic community is mostly found on flat or hilly terrains up to about 350 m in elevation, but it may also be present on locally precipitous sites and at slightly higher elevations. Some parts of the community may have a forest structure. The Woodland features an open tree canopy, groundcover prevailed by grasses and herbs, sometimes with layers of shrubs and small trees.
  Examples of the remnants can be seen at Scheyville National Park, Rosford Street Reserve, Brenan Park, Central Gardens Nature Reserve, Fairfield Park Precinct, Kemps Creek, Mulgoa, Prospect Hill in Pemulwuy, Prospect Nature Reserve, Wetherill Park Nature Reserve and Chipping Norton Lake, among other places.
caption: A typical rural grassland dotted with eucalyptus trees in Luddenham.
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