These temperate ecosystems are dominated by sclerophyll shrubs with small or ericoid leaves. A low sparse tree canopy may or may not be present. Low-moderate productivity is limited by summer droughts and low nutrient availability. and sandy or loamy soils, with many diverse plant specialisations to low nutrient, and regular fires, accelerated by slow decomposition rates. Foodwebs vary from complex to simple, but most lack large herbivores and predators. Vertebrate herbivores have specialisations to exploit low nutrient vegetation and avoid recurring fires, which are influential on plant and animal life histories. Specific plant-invertebrate relationships (e.g. as larval hosts and pollinators) are common (moths and butterflies larval hosts, wasp pollinators).