1. Unit 3 Outdoor and Environmental Education
Australian Outdoor Environments Before Humans

2. Continental Drift

3. 40 to 50 million years ago Australia split off from Antarctica
Some species of animals and plants have remained common from this earlier break up of the super continent…Pangaea….that became Gondwana and eventually Australia. Some examples include:

5. Banksia tree on the left is found in Australia, South Africa and India
                                                                                                                      
Beech Tree above is found in Australia ,New Guinea and South America

6. Biological Isolation Geological Stability An erratic climate
The uniqueness of the Australian environment has been shaped by three main factors:
Biological Isolation
Geological Stability
An erratic climate

7. Biological Isolation
Over the past 40 million years since separation from Gondwanaland the flora and fauna have been able to evolve in isolation

8. Geological Stability
Volcanoes and glaciers have not been active for a very long time. The land mass is made up of very old rock with very poor soils. The soil has been subjected to much wind and erosion. The poor state of the soils has had an influence on the flora and fauna.

9. An erratic climate
There seems to be a swing between climate extremes. Australia moves from long lean droughts (El Nino) to flooding rains (La Nina). This erratic climate has affected the reproductive cycles and survival rates of the flora and fauna.

10. Fire and Drought
Fire has had a significant impact on the Australian landscape it has greatly influenced the type of vegetation that now predominates the continent.

11. FIRE
As Australia became drier tropical forests retreated to gullies and valleys
Arid areas spread helped by the higher incidence of naturally occurring bushfires
Increased frequency of fire led to many plant and animal adaptations
Fire frequency and intensity has increased since European settlement : Why?
Work Task One