Hydrogeomorphology, floristics, classification and conservation values of the little-known montane mires of the upper Cudgegong River catchment, Central Tablelands, New South Wales (original) (raw)
Related papers
Cunninghamia, 2012
Newnes Plateau Shrub Swamps are a series of low nutrient temperate montane peat swamps around 1100 m elevation in the upper Blue Mountains, west of Sydney (lat 33° 23' S; long 150° 13'E). Transect-based vegetation studies show a closely related group of swamps with expanses of permanently moist, gently sloping peatlands. Vegetation patterns are related to surface hydrology and subsurface topography, which determine local peat depth. While there is evidence that a group of the highest elevation swamps on the western side of the Plateau are more dependent on rainwater, the majority of swamps, particularly those in the Carne Creek catchment, and east and south of it, may be considered primarily groundwater dependent with a permanently high watertable maintained by groundwater aquifers. An integral part of the swamps are a number of threatened groundwater dependent biota (plants-Boronia deanei subsp. deanei, Dillwynia stipulifera, dragonfly-Petalura gigantea, lizard-Eulamprus leuraensis), which are obligate swamp dwellers. This association of dependence leaves the entire swamp ecosystem highly susceptible to threats from any loss of groundwater, the current major one being the impact of damage to the confining aquicludes, aquitards, aquifers and peat substrates as a result of subsidence associated with longwall mining. Impacts on the swamps may also result from changes to hydrology through damming of creeks, mine waste water discharge, increased moisture competition from pine plantations, recreational motorbike and off-road vehicle tracks and climate change. If these groundwater dependent ecosystems do not receive protection from activities such as longwall mining subsidence, significant ecological damage is unlikely to be avoided or able to be mitigated even where provisions of the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation and NSW Threatened Species Conservation Acts apply to groundwater dependent swamps and biota. The importance of the highest elevation part of the Plateau for a number of restricted (some endemic) plant species is also discussed.
2010
Lists of the vascular flora of the Yelverton and Witchcliffe State Forests and the Bramley and Forest Grove National Parks from the Margaret River Plateau of south-west Western Australia are provided for the first time. A combined list of 731 taxa (87 weeds) was recorded from these areas. A total of 520 vascular plant taxa (490 native and 30 weeds) have been recorded from Yelverton Conservation Reserves, 448 vascular plant taxa (388 native and 60 weeds) from Bramley National Park, 351 vascular plant taxa (315 native and 36 weeds) from Witchcliffe State Forest and 363 vascular plant taxa (307 native and 56 weeds) from Forest Grove National Park. No native species appear to be endemic to the Plateau. No declared rare species were found, although 23 priority taxa were recorded from these reserves. Numerous disjunct and geographically significant populations are known from these parks.
Vegetation of montane bogs in east-flowing catchments of northern New England, New South Wales
The floristics of the montane bogs in east-flowing catchments of northern New England, north-eastern New South Wales (lat 28° 47’–31° 25’ S; long 151° 50’–152° 30’ E), are described from 62 full floristic survey sites (20 x 20 m in area). Eight vegetation communities are based on flexible UPGMA analysis of cover-abundance scores of vascular plant taxa. Shrub species make up 26% of the flora and herb species 69%, with the remaining taxa trees, climbers or vines. Shrub species were of little diagnostic value, as a few common dominants were shared across most communities. The herbaceous layer was found to be of better circumscriptive value. Communities described (based on dominant herbaceous species) are: (1) Themeda australis – Gonocarpus micranthus, (2) Baumea articulata – Baloskion stenocoleum, (3) Lepidosperma limicola – Baloskion stenocoleum, (4) Baloskion fimbriatum – Lomandra longifolia, (5) Lepyrodia scariosa – Blandfordia grandiflora, (6) Lepidosperma gunnii – Lepidosperma scariosa, (7) Baloskion stenocoleum – Empodisma minus, (8) Lepidosperma limicola – Xyris operculata. The mean annual moisture index was found to account for 26% of the variation in species density. These montane bog systems are some of the richest in Australia, with a high number of rare and restricted taxa. They are vulnerable to both present landuse practices and future changes in climate, are restricted in area, and need further conservation efforts to ensure their long-term survival.
Vegetation of Basket Swamp National Park, Northern Tablelands, New South Wales
The vegetation of Basket Swamp National Park (2820 ha), 30 km north east of Tenterfield (28°54’S, 152°09’E) in the Tenterfield Shire, in the Northern Tablelands Bioregion NSW, is described. Seven vegetation communities are mapped based on survey of plots, subsequent ground-truthing, air photo interpretation and substrate. Communities described are: (1) Eucalyptus campanulata (Blackbutt) – Eucalyptus cameronii (Diehard Stringybark) Open Forests, (2) Eucalyptus campanulata (Blackbutt) – Eucalyptus cameronii (Diehard Stringybark) Grassy Open Forests, (3) Leptospermum trinervium (Tea-tree) – Leptospermum polygalifolium subsp. transmontanum (Creek Tea-tree) Riparian Scrub, (4) Leptospermum trinervium (Tea-tree) – Kunzea obovata (Pink Kunzea) – Leptospermum novae-angliae (New England Tea-tree) Heaths & Shrublands, (5) Ceratopetalum apetalum (Coachwood) – Lophostemon confertus (Brush Box) Closed Forest, (6) Eucalyptus obliqua (Messmate) – Eucalyptus campanulata (Blackbutt) Tall Open Forests, and (7) Baeckea omissa (Baeckea) – Baloskion stenocoleum (Sedge) Heathy Sedgelands. All but two communities (3 & 7) were considered adequately reserved locally, no listed endangered or vulnerable communities were found. Thirty-six taxa were considered to be of conservation significance of which two are listed as vulnerable on Schedule 2 of the NSW TSC Act.A further nine have been reported under the RoTAP criteria.
For the Western Plains of New South Wales, 213 plant communities are classified and described and their protected area and threat status assessed. The communities are listed on the NSW Vegetation Classification and Assessment database (NSWVCA). The full description of the communities is placed on an accompanying CD together with a read-only version of the NSWVCA database. The NSW Western Plains is 45.5 million hectares in size and covers 57% of NSW. The vegetation descriptions are based on over 250 published and unpublished vegetation surveys and maps produced over the last 50 years (listed in a bibliography), rapid field checks and the expert knowledge on the vegetation. The 213 communities occur over eight Australian bioregions and eight NSW Catchment Management Authority areas. As of December 2005, 3.7% of the Western Plains was protected in 83 protected areas comprising 62 public conservation reserves and 21 secure property agreements. Only one of the eight bioregions has greater than 10% of its area represented in protected areas. 31 or 15% of the communities are not recorded from protected areas. 136 or 64% have less than 5% of their pre-European extent in protected areas. Only 52 or 24% of the communities have greater than 10% of their original extent protected, thus meeting international guidelines for representation in protected areas. 71 or 33% of the plant communities are threatened, that is, judged as being 'critically endangered', 'endangered' or 'vulnerable'. While 80 communities are recorded as being of 'least concern' most of these are degraded by lack of regeneration of key species due to grazing pressure and loss of top soil and some may be reassessed as being threatened in the future. Threatening processes include vegetation clearing on higher nutrient soils in wetter regions, altered hydrological regimes due to draw-off of water from river systems and aquifers, high continuous grazing pressure by domestic stock, feral goats and rabbits, and in some places native herbivores — preventing regeneration of key plant species, exotic weed invasion along rivers and in fragmented vegetation, increased salinity, and over the long term, climate change. To address these threats, more public reserves and secure property agreements are required, vegetation clearing should cease, re-vegetation is required to increase habitat corridors and improve the condition of native vegetation, environmental flows to regulated river systems are required to protect inland wetlands, over-grazing by domestic stock should be avoided and goat and rabbit numbers should be controlled and reduced. Conservation action should concentrate on protecting plant communities that are threatened or are poorly represented in protected areas. Cunninghamia (2006) 9(3): 383–450
The Vegetation of Queensland. Descriptions of Broad Vegetation Groups. Version 2.0.
The State of Queensland in northeast Australia covers 1.73 million square kilometres and encompasses a wide variety of landscapes across temperate, wet and dry tropics and semi-arid to arid climatic zones. Currently (May 2015), 1383 regional ecosystems are recognised across Queensland. Regional ecosystems are defined and mapped at 1:100,000 scale across the state. Many regional ecosystems include one or more vegetation communities, some of which are only recognised and mapped at scales larger than 1:100,000. A vegetation community is an association within a regional ecosystem that has similar structure and floristics and occurs within the same land zone. Broad Vegetation Groups (BVGs) are a higher-level grouping of vegetation communities and regional ecosystems. BVGs provide an overview of vegetation across the state or a bioregion. They are a useful addition to the regional ecosystem framework by providing an overview of major ecological patterns and relationships across Queensland, independent of bioregions and land zones, and facilitate comparisons with vegetation in other states and internationally. The primary aim of this document is to concisely describe the BVGs of Queensland to enhance their use in government planning, policy and regulation, e.g. vegetation offsets, Bushfire Hazard Area mapping, public education and scientific investigations. Floristic, structural, functional, biogeographic and landscape attributes have all been used in the BVG classification. The first aggregation of BVGs in the hierarchical classification is determined on the basis of vegetation structure (cover, height and growth form) of the ecologically dominant layer. BVGs are ordered broadly to reflect the vegetation structure along a mesic gradient from wet closed forests (rainforests) of the coast and north east, to the arid spinifex hummock grasslands of the south west. Specialised habitats such as freshwater wetlands (BVG 34) and intertidal areas (BVG 35) form the final groups. The rainforest aggregation (BVGs 1-7) are characterised by a generally closed tree canopy, predominantly non-sclerophyllous plants and frequently specialised lifeforms. The large aggregation of BVGs dominated by eucalypts (BVGs 8-19) is further subdivided on the basis of structure, mesic situation, landscape situation, predominant geology and dominant/ diagnostic species. The third aggregation of BVGs is dominated by trees or tall shrubs that are not eucalypts or rainforest species. Some BVGs in this aggregation are generally dominated by a single species, e.g. Melaleuca viridiflora (BVG 21a), or a group of taxonomically and functionally related species, e.g. Acacia cambagei/ A. georginae/ A. argyrodendron (BVG 26a), or by a combination of a structural formation, habitat and functionally related species such as low open woodlands on sand plains (BVG 27b). The final aggregation of BVGs is those not dominated by trees or tall shrubs. Some BVGs in this aggregation encompass vegetation types that are generally dominated by a suite of taxonomically and functionally related species, such as Acacia spp. on residuals (BVG 24a) or Senna spp. (e.g. BVG 24b). Other groups are dominated by a distinct structural formation (such as tussock and closed tussock grasslands BVGs 30-32). The Vegetation of Queensland describes the 98 BVGs defined for the 1:1M mapping level and lists the most extensive regional ecosystems in each BVG. The document is illustrated with 375 photographs, 108 tables and 103 maps, with detailed pre-clearing and remnant extent, and extent within the protected area estate. There are three nested levels of BVG which reflect the approximate scale at which they are designed to be used: the 1:1,000,000 (regional) (98 BVGs), 1:2,000,000 (state) (35 BVGs) and 1:5,000,000 (national) (16 BVGs). Links are provided to more detailed information and online regional ecosystem mapping. Keywords: Broad Vegetation Groups; BVGs; vegetation classification; regional ecosystems; Queensland vegetation; vegetation offsets
Environmental Management, 2004
A national approach to the conservation of biodiversity in Australia's freshwater ecosystems is a high priority. This requires a consistent and comprehensive system for the classification, inventory, and assessment of wetland ecosystems. This paper, using the State of Victoria as a case study, compares two classification systems that are commonly utilized to delineate and map wetlands-one based on hydrology (Victorian Wetland Database [VWD]) and one based on indigenous vegetation types and other
Vegetation of Little Bora Nature Conservation Trust Agreement, North Western Slopes, New South Wales
The vegetation of the Little Bora Nature Conservation Trust Agreement property (560 ha in area), 8 km south east of Bingara (lat 29° 55’S long 150° 37’) in the Gwydir Shire and within the Nandewar Bioregion is described. Eight vegetation communities are defined based on flexible UPGMA analysis of cover-abundance scores of all vascular plant taxa. These communities are mapped based on ground truthing, ADS40 imagery interpretation, topography and substrate. Communities described are: 1) Melaleuca bracteata – Eucalyptus melanophloia – Eucalyptus camaldulensis Woodland, 2) Callitris glaucophylla – Eucalyptus melanophloia – Eucalyptus albens Woodland, 3) Callitris glaucophylla – Eucalyptus melanophloia – Brachychiton populneus Woodland, 4) Eucalyptus albens Woodland, 5) Eucalyptus caleyi – Eucalyptus albens – Callitris glaucophylla Woodland, 6) Callitris glaucophylla – Eucalyptus melanophloia – Eucalyptus albens Woodland, 7) Austrostipa verticillata – Austrostipa scabra Derived Grassland, 8) Eucalyptus melliodora – Eucalyptus dealbata Woodland. A total of 232 vascular plant taxa were found of which 14% were considered exotic in origin. 66 ha of listed threatened communities were mapped along with populations of a currently listed Extinct plant (TSC Act) Dodonaea stenophylla.
Vegetation and floristics of Burnt Down Scrub Nature Reserve, North Coast, New South Wales
The vegetation of Burnt Down Scrub Nature Reserve, 15 km south west of Baryugil in the Parish of Carnham on the North Coast of New South Wales is described. A floristic survey of 28 × 0.04 ha plots was conducted in December of 1999. Five communities are defined based on flexible UPGMA analysis of abundance scores of vascular plant taxa. These communities are mapped based on ground truthing, air photo interpretation and substrate. A total of 355 vascular plant taxa was recorded including four species listed as rare or threatened: Marsdenia liisae, Olearia heterocarpa, Sarcochilus weinthalii and Tinospora smilacina. This paper describes the communities and discusses their significance and distribution within the Nature Reserve. A vegetation map and species list are provided.
Flora and vegetation of the southern Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia
Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement, 2000
This paper reports the first detailed study of the vascular flora of the southern Carnarvon Basin, an area of c. 75000 km 2 • A total flora of 2133 taxa of vascular plants was listed for the area. There are eight major conservation reserves which have 1559 taxa present in them. Most of the 574 unreserved taxa are wetland taxa, taxa of tropical affinities or those only present on the Acacia shrublands of the central basin. Vegetation patterning at a regional scale showed the major floristic boundary in the south west of the study area, which in turn reflected the major climatic gradients of the area. The other major influence on vegetation patterning was soil type.