The Vegetation of Tocal

This book is the first attempt to describe, classify and map the vegetation communities on Tocal. In conducting a thorough survey of the property, the authors have discovered and described features of the property that are little known by anyone not working daily with the Tocal landscape.

The soils on Tocal determine the agricultural value of the land, and this is reflected in the clearing and grazing practices over the past 180 years. So we have areas of rich and intense production adjacent to pockets of neglect where weeds form impenetrable barriers to all but the most adventurous. We find niches of bewildering variety in rainforested gullies surrounded by rampant regrowth on land that was once cleared for grazing.

The first step in resource management is to find out what is there. We now have that tool for Tocal's vegetation communities. The challenge is to treat our vegetation in a clever, considered way, retaining our best land for production and balancing the ecology so its richness and diversity is preserved. This book is a snapshot in time of a precious living and dynamic resource.