Into the forests

The forests are divided into ‘closed and ‘open’ forests. Closed forests include what are generally known as ‘rainforest’, with an almost continuous canopy of leaves and branches excluding up to 70 per cent of light from the forest floor. The open forests have eucalypts and their close relatives as dominant species, with a canopy cover of 30-70 per cent. Other communities are the woodlands, shrublands (heath).

Subtropical rainforest characteristics include: a high diversity of tree species; palms; trees such as figs and stinging trees emerging above the canopy; leaves which are compound, have smooth margins, and are medium-sized; trees with large buttresses. There are two types of subtropical rainforest—warm and cool.

• Warm subtropical rainforest: typically occurs at lower altitudes, below 800m on basalt or alluvial soils. Common trees are figs and booyongs.
  Best to see—track to Yerralahla (West Canungra Circuit), northern slopes on Border Track towards Tullawallal, Ilinbah Circuit, along Nixon’s Creek—Lower Ballanjui track.
• Cool subtropical rainforest: typically occurs between 800m and 1,000m on basalt soils. Fewer buttresses; fewer emergent tree types; fewer ferns; more filmy ferns; more mosses and liverworts. Common trees are rose-leaf Marara, red carabeen, pigeonberry ash, rosewood. Best to see—Border Track, Python Rock, Moran’s Falls track, and Coomera track. 

Dry forest is dominated by hoop pine. Buttresses are rare; palms and tree ferns absent; large vines common and the understory often contains prickly shrubs. Lamington National Park preserves possibly the largest remaining stand of undisturbed hoop pine forest.
Best seen—Darlington Range, viewed from Caves track.

Warm temperate rainforest: characteristics include low diversity of tree species—few if any large vines, wiry vines common; tree ferns more common; epiphyte species limited; trunks commonly covered with lichens; leaves medium to small, simple, and toothed. Forests found on south-facing basaltic slopes or on rhyolitic soils where locally enriched. Common trees are coachwood, acradenia, sassafras, prickly ash, scentless rosewood.
Best to see—Elabana Falls, Lighting Falls, between the Border Track and Nagarigoon, and the Coomera circuit.

Cool temperate rainforest: least diverse of the several rainforest types in the park. The dominant and often only seen tree species is Antarctic beech, rose—leaf marara, possumwood, sassafras or Queensland waratah may also be present. There are no stranglers, buttresses, large epiphytes, or lianas (woody vines). Mosses and ferns are plentiful. Usually found over 1,000m. Associated tree species coachwood and hill kanuka. Best seen—Tullawallal, Mt Hobwee, near Bithongabel and along the Border Track.

Tall open forests: usually have brush box as their predominant species. They are extremely tall and is often accompanied by New England blackbutt. Communities are transitioning between eucalypt open forest and rainforest.
Best seen on rhyolite soils—Coomera falls track; Dave’s creek circuit near Nagarigoon is a good example of a well-developed community of New England blackbutt. On basalt soils brush box is often associated with flooded gum, Sydney blue gum and tallowwood.
Best seen—Ship’s stern circuit near Lower Ballanjui falls and Lower Bellbird circuit. 

Open forests: are dominated by Eucalyptus species. On the deeper yellow rhyolitic soils, you’ll see tall forests of New England blackbutt and New England ash. Best seen–on the way to Coomera falls. On drier basaltic slopes like the Caves track and Illinbah circuit, you will find forest red gum. Poor rhyolitic soils such as Ship’s Stern, support an open forest dominated by red bloodwood, Tindale’s stringybark and scribbly gum. Understory includes a range of flowering shrubs which produce during spring.

Shrubland (heath) or scrubland: occurs on poor soil lying on a relatively flat bed of rhyolite, with an exposed southerly aspect. Description changes depending on time lapsed from last fire—an important factor in the regeneration of heathland. Common species include mintbush, lemon-scented tea-tree, grass tree, mallee and dwarfed Blue Mountains mahogany are the eucalypt types present. These communities provide excellent wildflowers e.g. peas, banksias, bottlebrushes, heaths, guinea flowers particularly in spring.
Best seen—Daves Creek, Echo Point, Mt Hobwee and Wagawn.