Arakoola Nature Reserve Vegetation 1999 VIS_ID 4705

Arakoola Nature Reserve vegetation mapping was undertaken by Dr John T. Hunter in 1999 by contract for the NPWS Northern Tableland Region. Arakoola Nature Reserve lies 2 km south from Coolatai and 100 km north west of\r\nInverell. The reserve is on the northern end of the Mastermans Range. Biologically\r\nthe reserve is within the North Western Slopes botanical region and half within the\r\nBrigalow Belt South Bioregion and half within the Nandewar Bioregion.\r\n\r\nThe vegetation of Arakoola Nature Reserve is described and mapped (scale 1:50 000). Seven communities are defined based on PATN analysis. Seven communities are mapped based on ground truthing, air photo interpretation and landform. Most communities are of a Woodland structure, however Grasslands, Herbfields exist along with Shrublands. The distribution of communities is related to past disturbances, drainage, soil type, altitude, and protection from the north. Many of the communities show considerable variation and intergrade along common boundaries and in particular on intermediate soil types. A number of communities are at their distributional limits, highly restricted or under represented in the current reserve network.\r\n\r\nVIS_ID 4705