Ocean shores to desert dunes – the native vegetation of New South Wales and the ACT David Keith ISBN 0 7313 6780 4, published in 2004 by the Department of Conservation and Environment (NSW), 353 pages, colour, hard cover. Price $A79.95 plus $A10 postage within Australia, overseas postage please request a quote

This book takes the reader on a journey through the landscapes of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, a particularly diverse part of the Australian continent, where a patchwork of native vegetation stretches from the ocean shores to desert dunes. The book describes the 12 broad formations and 99 classes of native vegetation, from lush rainforests, towering eucalypt forests, alpine meadows, windswept heathlands and grassy plains to the harsh arid shrublands. Each vegetation class is comprehensively described, including where it occurs and why, its current conservation and management challenges, and its place in the evolution, history and development of south-eastern Australia. The description of each is accompanied by colour photographs, a distribution map and an indicative list of plant species. This book is the perfect companion to the many plant identification guides currently available, and is based on a significant new map and classification of the vegetation of New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory by the author - the first published account in more than 20 years.

About the author

David Keith has been a research scientist in the Biodiversity Research Group of the NSW National Parks &Wildlife Service (now the Department of Environment and Conservation) for more than 15 years, and completed his doctorate in ecology at the University of Sydney. He is a long serving vice-president of the Ecological Society of Australia, and a member of the NSW Scientific Committee. His research on the effects of disturbances, such as fire and grazing, on vegetation dynamics as well as his studies in threatened species conservation, and surveys, classification and mapping of the south-east forests of New South Wales are very highly regarded. He has published more than 50 scientific articles, as well as reviewed and edited several scientific journals and books on the ecology and conservation of native vegetation.

Table of contents

Part 1.

• An introduction to native vegetation

Part 2.

• Rainforests
• Wet sclerophyll forests
• Grassy woodlands
• Grasslands
• Dry sclerophyll forests
• Heathlands
• Alpine complex
• Freshwater wetlands
• Forested wetlands
• Saline wetlands
• Semi-arid woodlands
• Arid shrublands

Part 3.

• The maps
• Appendicis
• Glossary
• Indexes