Indicator 1.2a: Forest dwelling species for which ecological information is available (2024)

• There were 1,788 identified native forest-dwelling vertebrate fauna species and 13,788 identified native forest-dwelling vascular flora species in Australia, as at December 2021.
• Across Australia, reptiles and birds are the dominant groups of vertebrates that inhabit forests.
• Flowering plants are the dominant group of flora in Australia’s forests, with the largest families being Fabaceae (including peas and wattles) and Myrtaceae (including eucalypts and melaleucas).

There were 1,788 identified native forest-dwelling vertebrate fauna species in Australia (Table 1.2a-1), as at December 2021. The list of Australia’s native forest-dwelling vertebrate fauna species is available for download from forest species and ecological communities data.

Queensland has the greatest number of forest-dwelling vertebrate fauna species in each taxonomic group. This reflects the large area and diversity of forest ecosystems in Queensland, including sub-tropical rainforest (see Table 1.1a.i-2 in Indicator 1.1a.i Forest area by type).

Reptiles (603 species) and birds (520 species) are the groups of vertebrates with the largest proportions of species that inhabit forests. The major forest-dwelling reptile families include:

• Scincidae (skinks, 290 species)
• Elapidae (elapid snakes, 72 species)
• Diplodactylidae (geckos, 47 species)
• Agamidae (iguanian lizards, 44 species).

The major forest-dwelling bird families include:

• Meliphagidae (honeyeaters, 71 species)
• Acanthizidae (Australasian warblers, 37 species)
• Psittacidae (parrots, 36 species). 

Click here for a Microsoft Excel workbook of the data for Table 1.2a-1.

Due to methodological changes, the number of forest-dwelling fauna species reported here is lower than that reported in Australia’s State of the Forest Report 2018. These changes include a different data source (the Atlas of Living Australia), reporting at the species level only (and excluding subspecies and other infrataxa), reporting only species with valid (accepted) taxonomic status according to the Australian Faunal Directory, and excluding marine fish and fish reported only from mangroves. The new method for determining forest-dwelling species means that no information can be provided on trends over time. The method used to derive the number of fauna species is explained in the Supporting information for Indicator 1.2a.

There were 13,788 identified native forest-dwelling vascular flora species in Australia (Table 1.2a-2), as at December 2021. The list of Australia’s native forest-dwelling vascular flora species is available for download from forest species and ecological communities data.

Queensland has the greatest number of forest-dwelling vascular flora species in each taxonomic group. This reflects the large area and diversity of forest ecosystems in Queensland, including sub-tropical rainforest (see Table 1.1a.i-2 in Indicator 1.1a.i Forest area by type).

Angiosperms (flowering plants, 13,371 species) are the dominant taxonomic group of forest-dwelling flora. The major angiosperm families in Australian forests are:

• Fabaceae (peas and wattles, 1,577 species)
• Myrtaceae (1,438 species, including the eucalypts)
• Orchidaceae (orchids, 996 species)
• Proteaceae (758 species)
• Poaceae (grasses, 678 species).

These are also the largest families of flora Australia-wide, across forest and non-forest ecosystems.

Click here for a Microsoft Excel workbook of the data for Table 1.2a-2.

Due to methodological changes, the number of forest-dwelling flora species reported here is lower than the number reported in Australia’s State of the Forest Report 2018. These changes include a different data source (the Atlas of Living Australia), reporting at the species level only (and excluding subspecies and other infrataxa), and reporting only species with valid (accepted) taxonomic status according to the Australian Plant Census. The new method for species reporting means that no information can be provided on trends over time. The method used to derive the number of flora species is explained in the Supporting information for Indicator 1.2a.