Wet Eucalypt Forests
Wet eucalypt forests are also known as wet sclerophyll forests (sclerophyll' is a term describing plants with hard, waxy covered leaves, well adapted to limited water supplies).
Wet eucalypt forests are fairly widespread throughout Tasmania, occurring in areas with fertile soil and reasonably good rainfall.
They can be distinguished by their overstorey of tall eucalypts, usually Swamp Gum (Eucalyptus Regnans), Stringybark (Eucalyptus Obliqua) and White-Top Stringybark (Eucalyptus Delegatensis), and a dense understorey of small trees, broadleaved shrubs and ferns.
In most cases, only one or two age classes of eucalypts are present within the forest. This even aged nature of the wet forest is a reflection of infrequent but very intense fires. It is possible to trace the fire history of a wet eucalypt forest by noting the age classes of the trees present.