Report on 737 Greigs Road,
Mount Cottrell
Melbourne Strategic Assessment
Published by the Victorian Government
Department of Environment and Primary Industries Melbourne,
April 2013
© The State of Victoria Department of Environment and Primary Industries 2013
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Contents
Background
2
Methods
2
Results
3
Natural Temperate Grassland
3
Spiny Rice-flower
3
Other comments
3
References
5
Background
The property at 737 Griegs Road Mount Cottrell has been identified as one of several properties forming a conservation
area in the draft Biodiversity Conservation Strategy for Melbourne’s Growth Areas (DSE 2011, Area ‘C’, Figures 1 and
23). This conservation area aims to protect:
• High quality herb-rich example of ‘Natural Temperate Grassland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain’ (listed as critically
endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act))
• Large populations of Spiny Rice-flower (Pimelea spinescens subsp. spinescens; listed as critically endangered under
the EPBC Act)
• Confirmed high persistence habitat for Golden Sun Moth (Synemon plana; listed as critically endangered under the
EPBC Act)
• A number of State and locally significant plant species, including Austral Trefoil (Lotus australis) and Basalt Podolepis
(Podolepis sp. 1).
In order to asses the contribution of 737 Griegs Road to these conservation goals, a botanical survey of the property was
undertaken by the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) (now the Department of Environment and
Primary Industries, DEPI) to:
• Determine the extent of Natural Temperate Grassland on the property
• Qualitatively assess the nature and quality of the grassland
• Search for Spiny Rice-flower plants, and document any plants encountered.
Methods
The property was surveyed on Tuesday 13 December, 2011, by Dr Steve Sinclair and Keshia Atchison from DSE, for
approximately four hours. Spiny Rice-flower searches were carried out in accordance with the guidelines published by
DSE (DSE 2010), except that the optimal survey time of April to August could not be met. However, one observer (SS)
has greater than six seasons experience of observing this species in a range of locations and conditions.
Most of the property (apart from the buildings, dam, driveway and portions of mown lawn) was considered ‘potential
habitat’; being native grassland, not recently burnt or grazed, without stony rises and no history of recent ploughing. All
‘potential habitat’ was searched by two observers walking parallel transects 5m apart, marked on each end by tapes. All
plants of Spiny Rice-flower were logged on a hand held GPS. It is important to note that conditions were relatively poor
for detecting Spiny Rice-flower, as the dominant Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra) was often long and dense. There is
a reasonable chance that some plants remain undetected (Garrard 2009a, b).
Results
Natural Temperate Grassland
The property (total area 4 hectares) supports ~3 hectares of Natural Temperate Grassland. None of this grassland has
been ploughed in the recent past. Figure 1 shows its distribution on the property. The grassland exists in three distinct
zones, reflecting different management:
• Area 1 (~0.7 hectares) is a relatively homogeneous stand strongly dominated by Kangaroo-grass (currently >90%
cover). Apart from Kangaroo Grass, very few native species are common (only Austrostipa bigeniculata, Asperula
conferta, Cheilanthes austrotenuifolia and Convolvulus angustissimus subsp. omnigracilis were frequently
encountered). Area 1 has very few weeds (total weed cover ~1%), although many of the weeds that are present are
high-threat perennial grassy weeds (notably Serrated Tussock (Nassella trichotoma)). Area 1 has not been burnt or
slashed in the recent past.
• Area 2 (~1.1 hectares) is similar to Area 1, but contains more patchy cover of Kangaroo Grass (currently ~15%), and a
higher cover of weeds (10%), including a high cover of Flatweed (Hypochoeris radicata). The cover of high-threat
perennial grassy weeds is patchy but overall <5%.
• Area 3 (~1.1 hectares) is a regularly slashed / mown area of rough lawn. It has a low cover of Kangaroo Grass (~5%),
and more bare ground than elsewhere on the property (exceeding 10%, but patchy). The most prominent native grass
is Windmill Grass (Chloris truncata). The cover of high-threat perennial grassy weeds is patchy, but overall <5%. The
regular mowing of this area has allowed gaps to be maintained between the grass tussocks, allowing several native
species to persist which are rare in over-grown grasslands, notably Large-flowered Annual Bluebell (Wahlenbergia
victoriensis), noted below.
The boundary between Area 1 and Area 2 is diffuse, and the line indicated on Figure 1 is approximate only. The other
boundaries are relatively sharp.
Spiny Rice-flower
Four plants of Spiny Rice-flower were found on the property, all within Area 1 (see Figure 1). These were growing as two
pairs of plants, each pair only ~3m apart. The locations of these plants are shown in Figure 1. Given the intensity of
survey it is highly unlikely that this property supports a large population of Spiny-Rice flower (not hundreds of plants), but
the dense Kangaroo Grass make it possible that some plants remain undetected.
Other comments
Two other plant species of high regional significance occur on the property:
• Lotus australis (Austral Trefoil). Three plants were found scattered on the property. This species is listed as poorly
known in Victoria (DSE 2005), and is extremely rare and depleted locally (Gray and Knight 2001).
• Wahlenbergia victoriensis (Large-flowered Annual Bluebell). One large patch of >50 plants was found. This species is
extremely rare in the Melbourne region (Gray and Knight 2001), but more common in northern Victoria.
These species are not listed under the EPBC Act, but their presence confirms that the grassland on the property has
experienced a long-term management history that has preserved sensitive grassland values.
Figure 1: Native vegetation and significant plant species. Areas of non-native vegetation (i.e. not Natural Temperate Grassland) are hatched. The base photograph
was taken in December 2009, and does not show the presence of a recently ploughed fire-break around the southern portion of the property.
References
Department of Sustainability and Environment (2005) Advisory List of Rare Or Threatened Plants In Victoria. Department
of Sustainability and Environment, East Melbourne, Victoria.
Department of Sustainability and Environment (2010) Biodiversity Precinct Structure Planning Kit. Department of
Sustainability and Environment, East Melbourne, Victoria.
Department of Sustainability and Environment (2011) Biodiversity Conservation Strategy for Melbourne’s Growth Areas.
Draft for Public Consultation. Department of Sustainability and Environment, East Melbourne, Victoria.
Garrard G (2009a) Dealing with imperfect detectability in biological surveys for native grassland management. PhD
Thesis, School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning, RMIT University, November 2009.
Garrard G (2009b) Detectability, search effort, needles and haystacks: how hard do we need to look to find a threatened
species? Decision Point 34, 3–5.
Gray M, Knight J (eds) (2001) Flora of Melbourne. A guide to the indigenous plants of the greater Melbourne area. 3rd
edition. Australian Plants Society, Maroondah, Inc. Hyland House, Flemington.