Vegetation communities on Raakajlim
One of the greatest attractions of Raakajlim is that it show-cases many of the key vegetation communities of north-west Victoria over a small area.
Riverine woodlands
Raakajlim Creek runs the length of the property, connecting the Dry Lakes system with the main Chalka Creek anabranch of the Murray River, both within Hattah Kulkyne National Park. The creek is lined with Black Box (Eucalyptus largiflorens) and Chenopods (saltbush and bluebush) and supplies areas of Lake Bed Herbland (heavier clay communities adapted to wetting and drying, characterised by gilgais and deep-cracks).
Semi-arid woodlands
This is our most significant vegetation community and is threatened in Victoria. Slender Cypress Pine (Callitris gracilis) dominates; this species was once widely felled throughout the Mallee for buildings, fence posts and firewood.
We have good natural regeneration of Pine in some areas, but other areas need revegetation via direct-seeding and hand-planting. The cover and diversity of native grasses has increased exponentially over the last fifteen years. Unusually, we also have both Casuarinas: Buloke at the northern end of its range and Belah at the southern end of its range.
Mallee woodlands
We have a central 50-hectare patch of Mallee woodland (Woorinen Mallee and Loamy Sands Mallee) which is connected to more extensive Mallee woodlands in the Park. Our restoration works here focus on habitat for threatened Mallee birds. Malleefowl have been observed here in the past and we hope they will return in time.
Like in Hattah Kulkyne National Park, some areas of Raakajlim are now mobile sand dunes, a legacy of past land use. Our focus here is stabilising the dunes.
What’s in flower: Plants
