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The samples were collected from the Whoolpooer State Forest (WSF) in western Victoria, southern Australia. The WSF is a 3000-ha E. camaldulensis woodland above a species-rich herbaceous ground layer. The vegetation can be considered largely intact, despite its history of land use, given that native species dominate the understorey and bryophyte mats are well-developed. Soils are duplex, consisting of a loamy sand, 0.5 m in depth, above a heavy mottled clay, and are usually waterlogged in winter and spring (Rayment & Higginson 1992). The climate is temperate with cool winters (mean minimum temperature of the coldest month (July) is 4°C) and warm summers (mean maximum temperature of the warmest month (January/February) is 26.6°C) (Bureau of Meteorology, Hamilton recording station, about 35 km to the south of the study site). The average annual rainfall is 687 mm with a mean monthly maximum of 77 mm in August and minimum of 32 mm in February. Annual rainfall in the year of data collection was below the long-term average (annual rainfall 2005 = 427 mm). |