Rural habitats

Rural, or agricultural, landscapes dominate the western area of Greater Sydney and cover 33 per cent of the region.

Features of rural land around Sydney include:

• it is generally low in biodiversity
• it has been used intensively for different crops and animals since European settlement
• it has small but important patches of woodland around its edges that support a wider range of plants and animals.

Patches of woodland possibly act as wildlife corridors - places of shelter for wildlife on the move.

Because agricultural areas have been cleared of most native bushland, they support a much lower diversity of plants and animals than more natural environments. The animals which do live there can be present in high numbers, but these are often introduced species such as Starlings and Sparrows.