Amendment to the list of threatened ecological communities under section 181 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EC145)
Minister for the EnvironmentMinister for the Environment
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Turn the raw legal text into a practical explanation grounded in Amendment to the list of threatened ecological communities under section 181 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EC145).
Minister for the Environment
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Elderslie Banksia Scrub Forest in the Sydney Basin Bioregion
The Elderslie Banksia Scrub Forest in the Sydney Basin Bioregion occurs in proximity to the Nepean River in the Cumberland subregion of the Sydney Basin Bioregion under the Interim Biogeographical Regionalisation of Australia (IBRA) Version 7. Known patches occur on an extensively cleared and largely mined Tertiary sand deposit at the once-rural locality of Spring Farm adjacent to the suburb of Elderslie. Additional very small patches may have been present on Tertiary sands upstream of the Warragamba River confluence with the Nepean River.
The ecological community occurs at low elevations, of around 60 to 100 metres above sea level. It is normally above the 100 year flood level, though it is possible that some regrowth on mined sand deposits is now artificially within the present floodplain.
Key elements of the canopy include Banksia integrifolia subsp. integrifolia (Coast Banksia), Angophora subvelutina (Broad-leaved Apple), Eucalyptus botryoides x E. saligna (a natural hybrid of Bangalay and Sydney Blue Gum) and various other species of Eucalyptus over a mostly shrubby understorey. Characteristic mid layer species include: Acacia decurrens (Black Wattle), A. implexa (Hickory Wattle), A. ulicifolia (Prickly Moses), Aotus ericoides (Common Aotus), Brachyloma daphnoides (Daphne Heath), Breynia oblongifolia (Coffee Bush), Dillwynia glaberrima (Smooth-leaved Dillwynia), Persoonia linearis (Narrow-leaved Geebung), Pimelea linifolia subsp. linifolia (Slender Rice-flower), and Ricinocarpos pinifolius (Wedding Bush). The ground layer often includes Dianella caerulea and D. revoluta (flax-lilies), Gahnia clarkei (Tall Saw-sedge), Gleichenia dicarpa (Pouched Coral Fern), Hibbertia diffusa (Wedge Guinea Flower), Lomandra spp. (mat-rushes) and Pteridium esculentum (Common Bracken).
In some wetter sites the ecological community includes more elements associated with dry rainforest and riverflat forest. In these areas a subcanopy of coast banksia may be present or a subcanopy of Melaleuca decora (Paper Bark, White Feather Honey Myrtle) and Melaleuca linariifolia (Snow in Summer) may be prominent. Mid-layer species at these sites include Clerodendrum tomentosum (Hairy Clerodendrum), Duboisia myoporoides (Corkwood), Kunzea ambigua (Tick Bush), Ozothamnus diosmifolius (White Dogwood), Platysace lanceolata (Shrubby Platysace), Clematis spp., Cayratia clematidea (Native Grape), Parsonsia straminea (Hairy Silkpod), and Denhamia silvestris (syn. Maytenus silvestris) (Narrow-leaved Orangebark). Sites with taller forest tend to include understorey species that prefer wetter areas, such as Viola spp. (Violets), Centella asiatica (Indian Pennywort), Dichondra repens (Kidney Weed), and Pteris tremula (Tender Brake). In some sites such as those intergrading with River-Flat Eucalypt Forest, a grassy understorey may be apparent, with e.g. Microlaena stipoides (Weeping Grass) and Austrostipa ramosissima (Stout Bamboo Grass) and sedges such as Gahnia and Carex species.