Before cattle: A comparative floristic study of Eucalyptus savanna grazed by macropods and cattle in north Queensland, Australia

Floristic differences between cattle-grazed and macropod-grazed sites (prot ected from domestic stock by enclosure within a Holocene lava flow) were ex amined in Eucalyptus savanna in north Queensland, Australia. While macropod -grazed sites have had a lower incidence of fire than the cattle-grazed sit es, it seems probable that grazing impacts per se are the major differences between these treatments. One dominant (Capillipedium parviflorum) and ano ther common (Sehima nervosa) native perennial grass in the macropod-grazed treatment were not recorded within the cattle-grazed treatment. There was g enerally a lower species richness and Shannon-Weaver diversity of perennial forbs in the cattle-grazed treatment compared to the macropod-grazed treat ment. There was higher richness, diversity, and abundance of annual grasses in the cattle-grazed treatment compared to the macropod-grazed treatment. The relative richness of native and exotic species was not significantly af fected by cattle grazing.