Communities for Communities
Issue 17: May 2013
In this issue:
 Three threatened ecological communities listed under national environmental law
 Posidonia seagrass assessment and technical workshop report
 The role of buffer zones in ecological protection
 Three new factsheets available
 Getting help to restore listed ecological communities
 Seven new species listed for protection under national environmental law
The beginning of 2013 has proven to be another productive period for the Ecological Communities
team. First up, three new ecological communities have been listed under Australia’s environmental
law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), bringing the
total number of protected communities to 61. Staff are still busily assessing a number of other
nominated communities, whilst working on recommendations and guidance obtained from the
latest Threatened Species Scientific Committee (TSSC) meeting held in March.
A number of factsheets and information products for recently listed ecological communities are
now available on the department’s website (see article below for more information). These
factsheets and information guides are your first stop for any questions you might have regarding a
specific protected ecological community, such as what an ecological community is, why it was
protected and what protection means for you and your activities if you are a landholder.
We also have a report for you on an interesting and thought provoking technical workshop that was
held to discuss ideas and share knowledge around the nominated Posidonia seagrass meadows
ecological community.
If you have ever wondered about the value of buffer zones, then you will find a great article about
the important role they play in the protection of threatened aquatic ecological communities in this
issue.
Finally, several new ecological community nominations are open for public comment. Visit the
department’s website for more information:
www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/nominations-comment.html
Newly listed ecological communities
Three new ecological communities became protected under national environmental law in
February this year. This brings the total number of listed ecological communities to 61. These three
new communities are detailed below. Further information on these ecological communities,
including full conservation advice, detailed descriptions, distribution maps and priority research and
conservation actions, can be found at:
www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/sprat.pl
Lowland grassy woodland in the South East Corner
Bioregion
The Lowland Grassy Woodland ecological community was listed as critically endangered on 16
February 2013.
Lowland Grassy Woodland is a native grassy woodland endemic to the south eastern region of
NSW. Only 10–25 per cent of the ecological community remains and is confined to private property
or small public reserves, such as cemeteries and roadsides around Bega, Cobargo, Moruya and
the Towamba and Araluen valleys.
The characteristic vegetation of the ecological community includes a canopy dominated by forest
red gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis) and/or rough barked apple (Angophora floribunda) with other
associated tree species, including white stringybark (E. globoidea) and coastal grey box (E.
bosistoana). A shrub layer is often present and there is typically a continuous groundlayer of
grasses and forbs. The ecological community can also occur as derived grassland— that is,
grassland remaining after the clearance of the overstorey trees—as much biodiversity can exist in
the remaining ground layer.
The ecological community is listed as critically endangered because it has a very restricted
distribution and there is clear evidence that it is subject to a range of ongoing threats. It has also
undergone a very severe reduction in integrity due to fragmentation, rural tree dieback and weed
invasion and a decline of fauna within the ecological community.
The ecological community has been lost and degraded through historic clearing for forestry and
development, weed invasion and altered fire regimes. Increased fragmentation is exacerbating
these key threats. Some remnants may also be impacted by future development, such as
rural/residential development and mining. Despite the loss and degradation, remaining patches still
provide a range of important ecosystem services and critical habitat for a large range of plants and
animals, including threatened species such as the grey-headed flying-fox and koala.
Monsoon vine thickets on the coastal sand dunes of
Dampier Peninsula
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The Monsoon vine thickets on the coastal sand dunes of Dampier Peninsula (Dampier Monsoon
Vine Thickets) were listed as an endangered ecological community on 27 February 2013.
The Dampier Monsoon Vine Thickets occur as a network of mainly small, linear patches along the
coastlines of the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia, stretching from Broome to Goodenough
Bay. The ecological community contains mostly perennial trees and vines that are deciduous,
semi-deciduous and evergreen.
The community usually occurs on the leeward slopes and swales and sometimes on exposed
crests of the coastal Holocene sand dune system. It is naturally fragmented due to its position in
the landscape, fire regimes, hydrological requirements and availability of suitable habitat; however,
it functions as a network ecosystem.
The abundance of fruiting plants in the Dampier Monsoon Vine Thickets provide rich food
resources for many mammal and bird species, such as the agile wallaby and great bower bird.
Fauna, such as the rose-crowned fruit-dove and two flying fox species, also act as pollinators and
seed dispersers. The ecological community also provides a range of ecosystem services, including
the stabilisation of sand dunes, minimising coastal erosion, water and soil nutrient cycling and
storing carbon.
The ecological community is also an important traditional resource for Indigenous people of the
region and provides sources of bush foods, medicines and materials for tools and other significant
items. Many patches are also important sites for Biidin or Jila (fresh water under the ground, living
water), ceremonial areas and law grounds.
As patches of the Dampier Monsoon Vine Thickets become degraded by threats, such as fire,
weed invasion and clearing, and become further isolated from each other, the opportunity for
movement of fauna and seed and pollen dispersal between patches is reduced. The loss or
serious degradation of a single large or critical patch has the potential to compromise the entire
network of the ecological community.
Western Sydney Dry Rainforest and Moist Woodland on
Shale
The Western Sydney Dry Rainforest and Moist Woodland Shale ecological community was listed
as a critically endangered ecological community on 27 February 2013.
This ecological community is comprised of a diverse assemblage of native plant and animal
species and typically occurs in higher rainfall areas around Western Sydney. The community is
found in fragmented patches across a variety of landscapes and can appear in two major forms. In
gully bottoms and lower slopes, it is typically found as a low, closed dry rainforest with a noneucalypt tree canopy comprised of species such as prickly-leaved paperbark (Melaleuca
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styphelioides) and hickory wattle (Acacia implexa). Moving upslope, the community transitions into
a moist eucalypt woodland with a more open canopy that is dominated by species such as forest
red gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis), and coastal grey box (E. Moluccana). Various shrubs, ferns,
vines and herbs may be found in the understory. Fragments of the community may also extend
onto the undulating plains around these steep gullies and slopes.
The Threatened Species Scientific Committee concluded that significant reductions in the
community’s distribution—of over 70 per cent—coupled with severe declines in the integrity of the
remaining patches warranted listing in the critically endangered category. These remaining patches
still provide important ecosystem services by preventing erosion around gullies and slopes and
contributing to the water quality of catchment areas. Threats to the community are varied and
include land clearing, weed invasion, grazing and increased fire frequency.
Listing will help to retain vital connectivity of this landscape and provide critical habitat for a wide
range of animals, such as the spotted-tail quoll (Dasyurus maculatus maculatus), yellow-bellied
glider (Petaurus australis), powerful owl (Ninox strenua) and the superb lyrebird (Menura
novahollandiae), whilst ensuring vital ecosystem services are maintained.
Posidonia seagrass ecological community listing
assessment and technical workshop
Seagrasses are marine flowering plants that are mostly found in nearshore environments. A rich
diversity of seagrasses is found in Australia with 30 species from 12 genera occurring (cf. 70
species from 13 genera occurring worldwide). Seagrasses have a tropical and temperate
distribution with an overlap zone in Australia occurring at Shark Bay in the west and Moreton Bay
in the east.
Some seagrasses form dense and highly productive meadows which provide a variety of valuable
ecosystem services, including habitat for a wide range of animals and plants; nursery function,
including for many commercially important species; shoreline protection; improved water quality
and carbon storage.
Posidonia dominated seagrass meadows are considered the most vulnerable of Australia’s
temperate seagrass meadows, due to the poor ability of Posidonia seagrasses to recover from
damage and disturbance. Posidonia seagrass meadows occur in sheltered waters from Shark Bay
in Western Australia, south around the coast to Wallis Lake in New South Wales, around the Bass
Strait islands and along the north coast of Tasmania. Posidonia seagrass meadows have declined
due to increasing human pressures that decrease water quality (e.g. increased turbidity and
nutrient levels) and physically damage seagrasses (e.g. dredging, propeller scouring and effects of
coastal constructions).
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Posidonia dominated seagrass meadows was nominated for listing as a threatened ecological
community under the EPBC Act and included on the 2011 Finalised Priority Assessment List. In
February 2013, a two day technical workshop was held regarding the assessment of this ecological
community for potential listing. The workshop brought together Posidonia seagrass experts whose
expertise ranged across the national extent (and beyond) of the ecological community.
Participants discussed how the ecological community should be defined for EPBC Act listing and
considered it to be the assemblage of organisms including and associated with seagrass meadows
dominated by the Posidonia australis species complex. Species of the Posidonia australis complex
are the main meadow forming seagrasses of the Posidonia genus. Also considered in detail were
condition classes, threats and priority conservation actions. The depth of knowledge and
experience offered by participants provided an immensely valuable underpinning to the scientific
assessment of this ecological community under the EPBC Act. We thank all participants for their
contributions during the workshop and their support of the assessment.
The assessment of the Posidonia dominated seagrass meadows ecological community for
potential listing under the EPBC Act is due for completion by 31 December 2013.
The importance of buffer zones
The application of buffer zones offers a practical, cost-effective approach to significantly enhance
conservation efforts for habitats and biodiversity. They are used worldwide as an approach to
protect and manage sensitive ecological areas. A buffer zone is an area lying between two or more
different communities or land use areas that serves to reduce the possibility of damaging
interactions between or through them. It generally refers to the area of land adjacent to a sensitive
or protected core area of natural habitat of either terrestrial vegetation or some form of water body
(or both).
The function and viability of terrestrial and aquatic communities can be improved through the
application of buffer zones, by minimising external threats and encouraging land-use management
in adjacent areas. There are many benefits of buffers, such as maintaining ecological integrity,
minimising edge-effects, building resilience against climate change and protecting groundwater.
Further information on the benefits of buffers, their design and use and value in supporting
threatened aquatic communities under the EPBC Act can be found in the following recent article
produced by the Ecological Communities team and published in Australasian Plant Conservation:
www.anbg.gov.au/anpc/apc/21-2_newton.html
New factsheets
Three new threatened ecological community guides are available on the department’s website.
These guides are your first stop if you want to know more about what threatened ecological
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communities are, why they were listed, whether or not they may be present in your area or on your
land and what listing may mean for you if the ecological community occurs on your land. The three
new factsheets are:
 Landholders & Upland Basalt Eucalypt Forests
 Farming and nationally protected Natural Grasslands of the Murray Valley Plains
 Nationally threatened grassland ecological communities: Natural Grassland on Basalt and
Fine-textured Alluvial Plains of Northern NSW and Southern QLD and Natural Grassland of
the Queensland Central Highlands and Northern Fitzroy Basin.
These factsheets, and all of our other publications, can be found on the department’s website at:
www.environment.gov.au/epbc/publications/index.html
Can I get help to improve listed ecological communities?
If a listed ecological community is present on your land, you may be eligible for Australian
Government funding schemes aimed at helping you to restore listed ecological communities and
conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. The schemes currently available include Caring for
our Country and the Biodiversity fund. These programs, in conjunction with schemes delivered
through state organisations, aim to assist landholders to preserve and restore nationally listed
ecological communities.
More information can be obtained from:
 local NRM regional bodies—www.nrm.gov.au/about/nrm/regions/index.html or
 Caring for our Country regional officers—www.nrm.gov.au/contact/officers.html
New threatened species listings
Since our last newsletter in November, seven new species have been listed as threatened under
the EPBC Act and four species have been relisted in a higher category. The threatened species as
well as their listing category can be seen in the table below.
Item
Listing Category
Brachychiton sp. Ormeau (Ormeau bottle tree)
Critically endangered
Caladenia lodgeana (Lodge’s spider-orchid)
Critically endangered
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Corybas sulcatus (grooved helmet-orchid)
Critically endangered
Transferred from vulnerable to
Dichanthium queenslandicum (king blue-grass)
endangered
Eucalyptus alligatrix limaensis (Lima stringybark)
Transferred from vulnerable to
endangered
Galium antarcticum (subantarctic bedstraw)
Critically endangered
Grevillea corrugata (a shrub)
Endangered
Transferred from vulnerable to
Homoranthus decumbens (a shrub)
endangered
Transferred from vulnerable to
Hypocalymma longifolium (long-leaved myrtle)
endangered
Pomaderris pilifera talpicutica (moleskin dogwood)
Vulnerable
Selaginella andrewsii (Tallebudgera spikemoss)
Vulnerable
For more information on these recently listed species, please visit:
www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/sprat.pl
Who’s who in the Ecological communities section?
Director: Matt White
Assistant Directors: Ann Holden, Gina Newton and John Vranjic
Project Officers: Paul Barraclough, Collette Barton, Mark Bourne, Andrew Chek, Anthony Hoffman,
Simon Pahor and Karina Richards.
Media enquiries
Please direct all media enquiries to the Public Affairs Section:
7
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: +61 2 6275 9880
Fax: +61 2 6274 1094
media@environment.gov.au
© Commonwealth of Australia 2013
This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered
form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your
organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are
reserved. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Public Affairs,
GPO Box 787 Canberra ACT 2601 or email public.affairs@environment.gov.au
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect those of the Australian Government or the Minister for Sustainability,
Environment, Water, Population and Communities.
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