Commonwealth of Australia

Amendments to the the lists of threatened species, threatened ecological communities and key threatening processes under sections 178, 181 and 183 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EC143)

I, GREG HUNT, Minister for the Environment, pursuant to paragraph 184(1)(a) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, hereby amend the list referred to in section 181 of that Act by:

including in the list in the critically endangered category

Warkworth Sands Woodland of the Hunter Valley

as described in the Schedule to this instrument.

Dated this…...........3rd....................day of…..........May......................2016

GREG HUNT

Minister for the Environment

SCHEDULE

Warkworth Sands Woodland of the Hunter Valley

Warkworth Sands Woodland of the Hunter Valley occurs in the Hunter River catchment, in the Central Hunter region of the Hunter Valley. It occurs in the Interim Biogeographical Regionalisation of Australia (IBRA version 7) Hunter Valley subregion (SYB02), in the north of the Sydney Basin Bioregion (SYB).

The ecological community occurs on aeolian sands, classified as part of the Warkworth Land System. Warkworth Sands Woodland mostly occupies linear sand dunes but also occurs on shallow “veneers” of sand, separated from the main sand deposit by areas of clay soils developed on Permian sediments.

The ecological community is a mid to low woodland (occasionally forest). The canopy of the ecological community is sparse to dense and typically dominated by Angophora floribunda (rough-barked apple) on deeper sand. On the shallower sands (e.g. in swales) Eucalyptus blakelyi x E. tereticornis (Blakely’s red gum x forest red gum hybrid) and E. crebra (narrow leaved ironbark) may be more numerous. In more disturbed areas, other canopy species, such as Allocasuarina luehmannii (bulloak, buloke) and Callitris endlicheri (black cypress-pine) may be more numerous. Other tree species may include: Eucalyptus blakelyi (Blakely’s red gum) and Brachychiton populneus subsp. populneus (kurrajong).

A sparse sub-canopy of smaller trees is often present, typically dominated by Banksia integrifolia subsp. integrifolia (coast banksia) and /or Acacia filicifolia (fern-leaved wattle). A sparse to dense shrub layer is often present, with Brachyloma daphnoides subsp. daphnoides and Breynia oblongifolia (coffee bush) commonly occurring. The groundcover varies from very sparse to dense with Imperata cylindrica (blady grass) and Pteridium esculentum (bracken) commonly occurring.

Warkworth Sands Woodland provides habitat to a wide variety of vertebrate and invertebrate fauna. The vertebrate fauna of the ecological community are typical of those of similar woodland and forest environments throughout the Hunter Valley region and may  include: Calyptorhynchus lathami (glossy black cockatoo); Anthochaera phrygia (regent honeyeater); Lathamus discolor (swift parrot); Falsistrellus tasmaniensis (eastern false pipistrelle); Saccolaimus flaviventris (yellow-bellied sheath-tail bat); Antechinus stuartii (brown antechinus); Cercartetus nanus (eastern pygmy possum); Petaurus breviceps (sugar glider); Rattus fuscipes (bush rat); Vombatus ursinus (bare-nosed wombat); Tachyglossus aculeatus (short-beaked echidna); Litoria aurea (green and golden bell frog) and Heleioporus australiacus (giant burrowing frog).