DIFFERENCES IN THE STAND STRUCTURE OF EUCALYPTUS-TETRODONTA FORESTS BETWEEN ELCHO ISLAND AND GUNN-POINT, NORTHERN AUSTRALIA

Eucalyptus tetrodonta dominated open forests occur across the northern coast of the Northern Territory. They typically have a well developed grass understorey, scattered saplings, numerous woody sprouts (ramets ) and a conspicuous absence of seedlings (genets). We compared a typic al E. tetrodonta stand on Gunn Point with an atypical stand on Elcho I sland; the forest on Elcho Island had less grass cover, greater canopy and litter cover, a deeper organic layer and higher densities of seed lings, woody sprouts and saplings than on Gunn Point. Gunn Point had a greater number of large E. tetrodonta trees that were more widely spa ced than trees on Elcho Island. The cause of these differences remains unclear.