Commonwealth of Australia
List of Threatened Ecological Communities Amendment (EC182) Instrument 2023
I, TANYA PLIBERSEK, Minister for the Environment and Water, pursuant to paragraph 184(a) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, amend the list referred to in section 181 of that Act by including in the list of threatened ecological communities in the critically endangered category:
Honeymyrtle shrubland on limestone ridges of the Swan Coastal Plain Bioregion
as described in the Schedule to this instrument.
This instrument commences the day after registration.
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Tanya Plibersek
Minister for the Environment and Water
Dated 7·11·2023
SCHEDULE 1
Honeymyrtle shrubland on limestone ridges of the Swan Coastal Plain Bioregion
The Honeymyrtle shrubland on limestone ridges of the Swan Coastal Plain Bioregion is
the assemblage of plants, animals and other organisms associated with a type of warm temperate shrubland or heath.
The ecological community occurs in southwest Western Australia. It is known to occur in relatively small areas, at several locations in the Swan Coastal Plain IBRA Bioregion. It occurs on the slopes and tops of limestone ridges on the Swan Coastal Plain.
It is a shrub-dominated ecological community, with sclerophyll shrubs forming a shrubland, thickets or heathland, above a typically diverse ground layer of herbs, including sedges, Restionaceae and occasional grasses.
The ecological community is dominated by Melaleuca huegelii (chenille honeymyrtle), Melaleuca systena (coastal honeymyrtle), and/or Banksia sessilis (parrot bush); commonly over Acacia lasiocarpa (pajang), Grevillea preissii (spider net grevillea) and Spyridium globulosum (basket bush). Other common shrubs include: Acacia rostellifera (summer-scented wattle), Banksia dallanneyi (couch honeypot), Gompholobium tomentosum (hairy yellow pea), Hardenbergia comptoniana (native wisteria), Hibbertia hypericoides (yellow buttercups), Leucopogon parviflorus (coast beard-heath) and Templetonia retusa (cockies tongues).
The ground layer typically has numerous herbs, including orchids and lilies, and may develop a mossy ground cover. Typical species include: Crassula colorata (dense stonecrop), Daucus glochidiatus (Australian carrot), Desmocladus flexuosus, Eriochilus dilatatus (white bunny orchid), Millotia tenuifolia (soft millotia), Phyllangium paradoxum (wiry mitrewort), Thysanotus manglesianus (fringed lily), T. patersonii (fringed lily) and Trachymene pilosa (native parsnip). It typically includes the grass Austrostipa flavescens (coast spear-grass); and commonly Rytidosperma occidentale (a wallaby grass); and following fire, A. compressa (compact needlegrass).
The ecological community includes a range of fauna species. Its plants provide food for a variety of nectar‑eating, seed‑eating and fruit‑eating birds, and browsing for mammals. Its associated rocky and sandy substrates provide ample reptile basking sites, and the shrub layer gives them cover.