Commonwealth of Australia

Inclusion of ecological communities in the list of threatened ecological communities under section 181 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

I, MALCOLM BLIGH TURNBULL, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, hereby amend the list referred to in section 181 of that Act by:

including in the list in the critically endangered category:

•      Mabi Forest (Complex Notophyll Vine Forest 5b), as described in the Schedule to this instrument; and
•      Swamps of the Fleurieu Peninsula, as described in the Schedule to this instrument;

including in the list in the endangered category:

• Semi-evergreen Vine Thickets of the Brigalow Belt (North and South) and Nandewar Bioregions;
• Shale/Sandstone Transition Forest;
• The community of native species dependent on natural discharge of groundwater from the Great Artesian Basin;
• Bluegrass (Dichanthium spp.) dominant grasslands of the Brigalow Belt Bioregions (North and South); and
• Brigalow (Acacia harpophylla dominant and co-dominant);

including in the list in the vulnerable category:

• Eucalyptus ovata – Callitris oblonga Forest, as described in the Schedule to this instrument;

deleting from the list in the endangered category:

• Semi-evergreen Vine Thickets of the Brigalow Belt South Bioregion in New South Wales.

Dated this…............12th .........................day of…................October.................................2007

Malcolm Bligh Turnbull

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources

SCHEDULE

Mabi Forest (Complex Notophyll Vine Forest 5b)

Mabi Forest (Complex Notophyll Vine Forest 5b) is found on highly fertile basalt-derived soils, in the moist lowlands, foothills and uplands on the Atherton Tablelands in the Wet Tropics Bioregion of northern Queensland.  A remnant patch is also located at Shiptons Flat, near Cooktown. Annual rainfall in this area varies between 1300 and 1600 mm.  The ecological community is heterogeneous within and between remnant patches, due to the influence of position in the landscape, local topography, and drainage.

Mabi Forest (Complex Notophyll Vine Forest 5b) is characterised by an uneven canopy (25-45m) with many tree layers.  Most trees have a deep crown, often extending down to between the top-third and top-half of the trunk.  As a result of the greater depth of crown, Mabi Forest (Complex Notophyll Vine Forest 5b) is distinctly different from nearby simple notophyll vine forests that only have shallow crowns with few layers.

The description of the ecological community is based on leaf size of the component vegetation: notophylls are plants with leaf size between 20.25–45 cm2, microphyllic plants have leaf sizes between 2.25–20.25 cm2, while mesophyllic plants have leaf sizes between 45–180 cm2. 

Notophylls (with some microphylls), are most common in the canopy of Mabi Forest (Complex Notophyll Vine Forest 5b), with mesophylls frequently found in the lower layers.  These notophylls are commonly semi-evergreen, and undergo heavy leaf fall during times of moisture stress.  The canopy also contains scattered deciduous trees.  The trunks of trees in this ecological community are uneven in size, and plank buttresses are a common feature in remnant or mature patches.  Woody vines are generally conspicuous. Epiphytes are rare, but where they do occur, they are high in the branches, with only scattered epiphytes being found lower down.  A prominent medium to dense shrub and scrambling vine understorey occurs beneath the tall canopy, and is a unique and distinguishing feature of this forest type.  The shrub/vine layer is generally only 1-3 metres high.  A list of characteristic plant species given below.

Mabi Forest (Complex Notophyll Vine Forest 5b) is characterised by the following plant species.  The total flora species list for the ecological community is considerably larger than that given below, with many species present at only some sites, or in very low densities.  Species may be present in the ecological community either in the seed bank, or as above-ground individuals.  Not every species will be present at every site, and the species composition of the remnant patches will be influenced by patch-size, recent environmental conditions, local disturbance history, and site-specific geographic and topographic locations.

* V = listed as a vulnerable species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Swamps of the Fleurieu Peninsula

The Swamps of the Fleurieu Peninsula are confined to the IBRA region “Lofty Block”. They are limited to the local catchment areas of Tookayerta, Hindmarsh, Parawa, Myponga, Yankalilla, Onkparinga, Currency Creek and Finniss.

The Swamps of the Fleurieu Peninsula are localised wetlands occurring in high rainfall areas. They are densely vegetated and occur adjacent to waterlogged soils around low-lying creeks and flats. The swamps are typified by their reedy or heathy vegetation growing on peat, silt, peat silt, or black clay soils.

The Swamps of the Fleurieu Peninsula ecological community is characterised by the following plant species. The total flora species list for the ecological community is considerably larger than that given below, with many species present at only some sites, or in very low densities. Species may be present in the ecological community either in the seed bank, or as above-ground individuals. Not every species will be present at every site, and the species composition of the remnant patches will be influenced by patch-size, recent environmental conditions, local disturbance history, and site-specific geographic and topographic locations.

* E listed as an endangered species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Eucalyptus ovata – Callitris oblonga Forest

The Eucalyptus ovata – Callitris oblonga Forest ecological community is a type of Eucalyptus forest with a shrubby understorey. This ecological community is characterised by:

• a Eucalyptus overstorey, typically made up of E. ovata, but in some areas it may be made up of by E. viminalis or E. amygdalina (Harris & Kirkpatrick 1991a; Zacharek 2000);
• a midstorey of Callitris oblonga subsp. oblonga; and,
• a shrubby understorey, of which Bursaria spinosa, Melaleuca gibbosa and Acacia dealbata are common components.

The ecological community is characterised by the association of Eucalyptus ovata and Callitris oblonga, and occurs in riparian (riverine) habitats. On alluvial flats the ecological community generally forms shrubby woodland, often in association with Melaleuca gibbosa. On rocky slopes this ecological community may lose its Eucalyptus overstorey due to topographical and soil factors, and form tall open shrubland with Callistemon pallidus. On rocky slopes, C. oblonga may therefore be the sole dominant, or co-dominant with eucalypts. Callitris oblonga is likely to be less dominant or co-dominant on the alluvial flats, where eucalypts, particularly E. ovata, become more dominant (Harris & Kirkpatrick 1991a).

This ecological community can vary in structure, for example it may occur as riparian forest, riparian scrub or as forest with a grassy understorey, reflecting a combination of the small-scale variations in topographic and disturbance effects of the riparian environment. The ecological community’s composition has been degraded in some places and its structure has often been modified; the shrub layer may be absent due to overgrazing or Callitris oblonga absent due to frequent fire. Weeds also heavily infest some patches (Zacharek 2000).

There are some isolated remnants from which Callitris oblonga has been excluded, by fire or other disturbance. The absence of C. oblonga in these remnants is an index of the level of degradation of the ecological community. As a key species Callitris oblonga plays an important role in the ecological community, and its loss affects the habitat for other species. Remnants in which this species is absent are therefore considered degraded to such an extent that they are no longer part of the listed ecological community.

The most common and characteristic flora species of this ecological community, plus listed threatened flora associated with it, are listed in Table 1. Table 2 provides a list of fauna species recorded within the ecological community.

Table 1. Characteristic native plant species of the Eucalyptus ovata – Callitris oblonga Forest ecological community. Not every species will be present at all locations. This list is not comprehensive, and does not include all plant species found in the ecological community.

Table 2. Fauna species associated with Eucalyptus ovata - Callitris oblonga Forest ecological community. Not every species will be present at all locations. This list is not comprehensive, and does not include all fauna species found in the ecological community.