Recognising habitat features on your property

Why habitat features are important

Natural habitat features are essential to healthy ecosystems and to the survival of native plant and animal species. 

By recognising their value, landholders can help protect and restore critical habitats. This ensures natural environments remain functional for future generations.

Wildlife is part of our natural heritage and contributes to the quality of rural life. The removal or modification of habitat features disrupts the local ecosystem. This can have a significant effect on wildlife diversity, which may lead to local extinctions of native plants and animals. 

Some areas of NSW have been significantly modified leaving few intact habitats in the landscape. Clearing of vegetation, including the understorey, reduces the ability for native vegetation to regenerate naturally. This is often observed in mature and aging single paddock trees. 

Other regions, such as hinterlands and our World Heritage reserves are less disturbed. These areas still contain valuable habitats and diversity to support a large number of native fauna and flora.

The overstorey

The overstorey is made up of large trees.

Trees attract wildlife and provide shelter, nesting, and feeding sites. Having a variety of tree species and ages creates diverse habitats for wildlife.

Large healthy mature trees are particularly valuable because they:

• provide more nectar, foliage, and fruit than young trees
• offer nesting hollows and complex canopy structure
• recycle nutrients from deep soil layers to the surface through litter, pollen, and sap.

Hollows

Large, old trees often develop hollows. Hollows provide essential nesting and shelter sites for many native species like:

• owls, parrots and cockatoos
• possums
• bats
• ducks.

Tree hollows form as a result of natural events like fires, windstorms and lightning that damage the trunk or branches. Termites, fungi and bacteria then invade the ‘wound site’ and promote the decay of wood.

The formation of hollows is a slow process:

• Small hollows ( less than 5 cm): ~100 years to form; used by small mammals like the brush-tailed phascogale.
• Medium hollows (5–15 cm): ~200 years to form; used by parrots and gliders.
• Large hollows (larger than 15 cm): take even longer; used by species like the powerful owl.

Clearing of old trees and competition from introduced species have reduced hollow availability.

Leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds and sap

These provide food and shelter for many animals:

• Leaves feed mammals like koalas and host insects that birds and bats eat.
• Flowers produce nectar and pollen. Large trees like ironbark and spotted gum are key winter food sources for species like the endangered Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot.
• Fruits and seeds feed birds like the Glossy Black-Cockatoo, which relies on casuarina and she-oak seeds.
• Sap and lerps (sweet domes produced by insects) provide sugar-rich food for many birds.

Branches and bark 

Tree branches support nesting and roosting, while bark provides habitat for reptiles, birds, bats, and insects. Peeling or rough bark offers shelter, nesting material, and foraging sites.

Mistletoe

Native mistletoe is a parasitic plant that plays an important role in healthy ecosystems. Mistletoe does not kill its host tree, and should be left to grow. It is generally spread by the tiny mistletoe bird which deposits the sticky seeds on the branch of a host tree. 

Heavy infestations are rare and usually occur where natural predators are absent.

Mistletoes are important for many native animals. In low numbers, it:

• provides food and shelter for birds, gliders, and butterflies
• offers foliage rich in nutrients and water content
• supports pollinators such as beetles and spiders.

Most mistletoe flowers are brightly coloured and produce a good supply of nectar which is harvested by many nectar feeding birds. The seeds are eaten by parrots such as rosellas, while possums and gliders eat the nutritious, succulent mistletoe leaves. 

Dead standing timber

Even after death, a tree will provide habitat for many years to come. Dead timber provides shelter (hollows, cracks and crevices in the trunks and limbs) and perching sites for wildlife. Spotted-tailed Quolls and antechinus often rely on large hollow bearing logs for shelter during the day. Logs are particularly important for social interactions, such as mating and territorial displays.

The understorey

The understorey is made up of small trees and shrubs

Understorey plants provide structure, protection, and food for many animals. They also stabilise soil, provide wind protection and prevent the loss of leaf litter.

Some plant species, such as wattles, also help fix nitrogen and speed up the growth of other plants. Dense or prickly shrubs offer nesting sites and protection for small birds and mammals.

The dense and sometimes spiny foliage of understorey shrubs provides shelter for many smaller birds and mammals. They build nests in these shrubs and hide from predators and aggressor species like noisy miners.  

Loss of understorey vegetation has contributed to the decline of small woodland birds such as robins, thornbills, finches, and wrens. Diverse shrubs and vines provide seasonal food sources through foliage, seeds, fruit, pollen, and nectar.

Regeneration 

Natural regeneration is crucial to replace aging canopy and understorey plants.

Plant regeneration (new plant growth) is an essential part of a healthy woodland community. It helps to replace mature canopy and understorey plants as they die.

Regeneration should be occurring across all plant species in the woodland. It should only be a minor component of the canopy and understorey layers.

Groundcover

Ground cover is made up of low shrubs, grasses, herbs and plant litter

Tall, dense tussock grasses provide shelter and nesting sites for:

• birds
• reptiles
• carnivorous marsupials
• insects.

Very few natural grasslands and grassy woodlands remain intact. The remnants are among the most threatened ecosystems in Australia. 

Rainforest floors, river banks and closed forests with shrubby understorey contain leaf litter, seeds, fungus and invertebrates. These are important food sources for many birds, reptiles, marsupials. Several threatened birds rely heavily on the cover and food sources provided by native grasses, leaf litter and fern cover.

Herbs, forbs and low shrubs 

The foliage, flowers, fruit and tubers of these plants are very important resources for wildlife. They provide a layer for shelter, nesting sites and food. Reptiles and birds are use the flowers and fruit provided by the ground layer. Low prickly shrubs, like wattles and native peas, provide additional protection for small animals.

Leaf litter and fallen timber

Fallen branches, logs, and leaf litter are key habitat features. They:

• provide breeding and shelter sites for birds, reptiles, frogs and mammals
• feed soil-forming insects and fungi
• improve soil fertility and moisture retention

Although fallen timber may appear untidy, it is vital for ecosystem health and soil formation.

Keeping this debris in place also supports natural regeneration, creating a balanced and resilient ecosystem.

Other living organisms 

Colonies of bacteria, mosses, fungi, algae, liverworts and lichens grow on soil, rocks and logs, each playing an important habitat role.

They help maintain healthy ecosystems by:

• forming biotic soil crusts that bind soil particles together
• improving seed germination and water infiltration
• supporting native plant reproduction and growth.

Mycorrhizal fungi, such as the common puffball, form beneficial relationships with many woodland plants. This helps to enhance their root systems and nutrient uptake. Other soil fungi and bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen, making it available for plants to use and enriching the soil.

Rocks and soil 

Bush rocks 

Bush rocks are naturally occurring rock features ranging from small rocks to large boulders and outcrops. Many animals use bush rocks for:

• shelter and nesting
• finding food (hunting and gathering sites)
• avoiding extreme weather conditions and bushfires.

Reptiles regularly use bush rock for egg-laying and basking.

Soil 

Soil is the foundation for plant growth and an important habitat for burrowing species. It also supports soil organisms that improve fertility and water infiltration. Ploughing or compacting soil can destroy these habitats.

Cracks in heavy soils offer cool refuges for small mammals reptiles, and insects. During floods, large cracks can also provide aquatic habitat for frogs and invertebrates such as shield shrimp.

Caves and cliffs 

Caves and cliffs provide shelter and nesting sites for birds, bats, and reptiles. They also provide shelter during extreme events like bushfires. Birds of prey often use cliff ledges for nesting and hunting.

Watercourses, wetlands and dams

Water is an essential habitat feature for many animals. Some species only need water to drink, while others depend on aquatic environments for breeding and feeding.

Within the water, animals such as fish, frogs, turtles, platypus, water rats and aquatic invertebrates live, breed and feed.

Fallen logs, instream rocks and underwater surfaces provide places to hide, rest and nest. Plants growing in or on the water, like reeds and rushes, create vital breeding, feeding and sheltering areas for waterbirds such as pied cormorants and frogs.

Riparian zones, the vegetation along bodies of water, are especially important. They provide:

• habitat for birds, frogs and mammals
• tall, dense vegetation that supports a variety of wildlife
• important connections between aquatic and terrestrial environments.

These areas often support greater wildlife diversity because they combine both land and water habitats. The vegetation is usually taller, denser and more complex due to its proximity to water.

What you can do

Learn more about:

• Assessing and protecting habitat features
• Habitat for woodland birds
• Habitat for native wildlife