Melaleuca forest

Melaleuca species grow throughout Australia, although mainly in the northern areas. They are often called ‘paperbarks’ due to the distinctive soft papery bark on many species.

Origin of the word

‘Melaleuca’ comes from the Greek words ‘melas’ meaning black and ‘leucon’ meaning white, which is believed to refer to the layering of black and white bark.

Characteristics of the forest

Melalauca forests, or coastal swamp forests are predominantly Woodland or Open Forests, which occur in low-lying swales and damp swampy areas along coast lines which are regularly inundated with water and dry out seasonally. They grow on deep sandy soils, which are black with humus due to the slow decomposition of fallen leaves. Melaleuca quinquenervia, together with Callistemon salignus and Eucalyptus robusta are the dominant trees of these forests. The shade they cast limits growth in the understory, which may be a composite of small shrubs and annual herbs.

Melaleuca forests occur as low woodland in localised patches across coastal Australia and cover 7.5 million hectares in Australia and make up 5% of Australian forest areas. They are usually found along estuarine floodplains and seasonal swamps in coastal and near coastal areas.

Water tolerance

Melaleuca forests also grow along creeks and in low lying areas likely to have regular inundation. They can tolerate brackish water and soils with low oxygen levels.

They can also occur as edges beside streams as the wood of Melaleuca contains high amounts of silica, which makes them able to tolerate wet conditions.

Melaleuca swamp

Wetlands Environmental Education Centre, Australia, located in Newcastle NSW, has a small remnant Melaleuca forest, which is the most significant plant community on the site. Melaleuca Swamp Forest is particularly poorly represented within the Sydney Basin biogeographic region.

Shortland Wetlands

In 2001 the importance of Shortland Wetlands was recognised as a Ramsar Site, a wetland of International Significance due to its unique, high conservation value, near natural wetlands complex.

Google Earth

An example of a Melaleuca forest lies in the area around the Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia on Google Earth. To move out of street view level and look at the wider area click the yellow person icon in the bottom right hand corner. This resource will only work in the Google Chrome browser.

Habitat

Even small areas of Melaleuca forests can provide habitat for a wide range of insect, bird and animal species. Some species of birds, such as egrets will nest almost exclusively in paperbark trees and nankeen night herons (Nycticorax caledonicus) nest in association with them. The masses of nectar rich flowers are an important food source for flying foxes, which are important forest pollinators.

Ecosystem protection

Melaleucas can grow very closely together and help protect land plants from storms and salt spray. They trap debris and soil runoff during floods and act as filters to recycle nutrients. Fallen trees and branches offer protection and habitat to many fish species.

Industry

One species is grown extensively for the tea-tree industry as its aromatic leaves contain a natural antiseptic and it is commonly used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

Cultural Importance

Aboriginal Australians used melaleuca wood for canoes and the natural antiseptic in the oil of the leaves was used to treat colds, sore throats and flu. The bark has been used as sheaths, fire starters, cooking food, blankets and bandages. The nectar from flowers can be sucked directly for a sweet treat or soaked to produce a sweet drink.

The proximity of melaleuca forests to coastal development and infrastructure has caused the largest impact to these forests as any interference to the forest itself, as well as adjacent sites, will impact on hydrology.

Land clearing

In Northern Queensland, melaleuca forests occur almost exclusively on fertile alluvial soils, and have been cleared to provide land for agriculture, in particular, the sugar cane industry.

Drainage

Drainage and flood mitigation measures along coastal sites have caused such altered water flows that the drying and inundation regime required for melaleuca species is removed.

Tourism

Growing tourism and urban development in preferred coastal habitats have seen large areas cleared for development.

Threat from birds

Large populations of birds using melaleucas for nesting can also have a detrimental effect to the forest. The birds use twigs for nest construction, damaging healthy trees, and large nutrient loads are added to the surrounding water impacting on forest regeneration.

The Wetlands Environmental Education Centre is located on a 45ha natural reserve of freshwater wetlands, Hunter Wetlands Centre, Australia. This once very disturbed habitat has been restored over a period of 25 years and contains a remnant melaleuca forest.

Programs

The Wetlands EEC provides excursions for students from Kindergarten to Year 12 and programs are primarily based on wetland habitats.

Junior programs include:

• What is a wetland?

• What lives in a wetland?

• Wet and dry environments; Minibeasts.

Each program progresses through more in-depth wetland features and issues.

Senior programs include:

• Biology

• Geography

• Earth and environmental studies.

The senior programs are closely linked to HSC fieldwork requirements and cover investigations into local ecosystems, management issues and human impacts.

More locations

Other Environmental Education Centres that provide access to melaleuca forests include:

• Rumbalara (Hunter/Central Coast),

• Georges River (South Western Sydney)

Visit the Wetland Environmental Education Centre’s website

Other websites

• NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service - National parks and wildlife

• NSW Office of the Environment and Heritage - Threatened species

• NSW Office of the Environment and Heritage - Deane's Paperbark

• The Planthunter – Tea tree

• Paperbark pages – The paperbark tree

• Backyard Buddies – Melaleuca

• Federal Department of Agriculture and Water Resources – Melaleuca Forest

• PlantNET – Genus Melaleuca