The Central Highlands is a large geographical region in central

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in A ...

. The term is mainly used in a geological context to describe that part of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs roug ...

that is west of its alpine areas but does not extend to its western end in Victoria's west. The area is situated east of

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vi ...

, south of

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, maki ...

, north and east of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metr ...

, and west of the alpine areas. Major towns of the Central Highlands include

Castlemaine Castlemaine may mean: * Castlemaine, Victoria, a town in Victoria, Australia ** Castlemaine Football Club, an Australian rules football club ** Castlemaine railway station * Castlemaine, County Kerry, a town in Ireland * Castlemaine Brewery, We ...

Creswick Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia, 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 122 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2016 census, Creswick had a populatio ...

, Daylesford, Gisborne,

Kyneton Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. Kyneton is on Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung country. The town has four main stree ...

and Woodend. All these towns are located in what is usually referred to as the West Central Highlands. The more mountainous and more sparsely populated eastern part of the Central Highlands is referred to as the East Central Highlands and has extensive areas of

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American Pac ...

Rainforests

The East Victorian Central Highlands, including some of Melbourne's water catchments, contain cool temperate

rainforests Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

; dominated by myrtle beech and southern sassafras, with an understorey of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

s and

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and horn ...

es. They may also contain

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', '' Allosy ...

trees and blackwood.

Logging and environmental impact

20124-01-04 Toolangi tree house 600 2810 1 2 (Soft 4)

The ''Central Highlands Regional Forest Agreement'' protects approximately 43.84% of rainforest stands in the Central Highlands of Victoria within dedicated reserves. Any rainforest that is not within these dedicated reserve is susceptible to the impacts of clearfell

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

.16 June 2009
"Australia: Scientists call for Protection of world’s most carbon dense Forests"
''San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center'', Retrieved on 4 August 2009 A paper published in the US-based ''

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of Scien ...

'' reports that the world's most carbon dense forest is found in the Central Highlands of Victoria. Logging is proceeding in very significant regions of the Toolangi State Forest, including forest that provides habitat for the endangered

Leadbeater's possum Leadbeater's possum (''Gymnobelideus leadbeateri'') is a critically endangered possum largely restricted to small pockets of alpine ash, mountain ash, and snow gum forests in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbo ...

such as Nolan's Gully, and forest adjacent to Sylvia Creek Road.Toolangi's forest sanctuary disappears
The Wilderness Society

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20080828020552/http://www.chsa.org.au/
Central Highlands at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
{{coord, 37, 04, 42.3, S, 144, 12, 43.8, E, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Geography of Victoria (Australia) Forests of Victoria (Australia) Great Dividing Range Highlands

Rainforests

Logging and environmental impact

See also

References

External links