Dryandra Woodland

Dryandra Woodland
Protected Area
Entrance to Dryandra Woodland on the Narrogin-Wandering road
Official name: Dryandra Woodland
Name origin: Banksia ser. Dryandra
Country	Australia
State	Western Australia
Region	Wheatbelt (Western Australia)
Coordinates	32°47′S 116°58′E / 32.783°S 116.967°E / -32.783; 116.967Coordinates: 32°47′S 116°58′E / 32.783°S 116.967°E / -32.783; 116.967
Area	280.66 km2 (108 sq mi)
Founded	1976
For public	Yes
Website: Department of Environment and Conservation

The Dryandra Woodland is a nature conservation area in Western Australia within the Shires of Cuballing, Williams and Wandering, about 164 kilometres (102 mi) south-east of Perth and 22 kilometres (14 mi) north-west of the town of Narrogin. It is a complex of 17 distinct blocks managed by the Western Australian managed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife and spread over approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) separated by areas of agricultural land. The area is considered to be one of the state's major conservation areas, and although it is far from pristine due to its history of logging operations, a number of species of threatened fauna are rebuilding populations through the removal of introduced predators such as foxes and feral cats.

The combined area of the woodland is 28,066 hectares (108.36 mi²), with individual blocks ranging in size from 87 hectares (0.34 mi²) to 12,283 hectares (47.43 mi²). Part of Dryandra Woodland is listed on the Register of the National Estate by the Australian Heritage Council.

In addition to the area's use as a wildlife refuge, it has anthropological significance with the indigenous Noongar people having strong cultural links there.

The Dryandra Woodland is found within the south-western province of the Yilgarn craton, "an ancient plateau composed mainly of granite, with intrusions of dolerite and capped with laterite. Past weathering of the plateau in the Dryandra area has produced a gently undulating countryside".

The woodland lies close to the boundary between the Mallee and Avon Wheatbelt biogeographic regions of the Southwest Botanical Province. It is situated on the western edge of the state's wheatbelt region: the area is a rare remnant of the open eucalypt woodlands which covered much of the wheatbelt prior to land clearing which started from the 1890s. Dryandra's flora is transitional between that of the moister jarrah forest (generally to the south) and the semi-arid wheatbelt (to the east). It is known particularly for its extensive stands of wandoo (Eucalyptus wandoo), powderbark wandoo (E. accedens) and salmon white gum (E. lane-poolei), and provides a haven for native flora and fauna while much of the surrounding country is badly affected by salinity. Stands of jarrah (E. marginata) and marri (Corymbia calophylla) provide additional top cover, and the understorey contains rock sheoak (Allocasuarina huegeliana) and extensive areas of Banksia ser. Dryandra. Until early 2007 this latter shrub was classified as a separate genus Dyrandra after which the woodland is named. Species include golden dryandra (Banksia nobilis) and prickly dryandra (B. armata). An arboretum on Tomingley Road holds a range of Australian native plants.