List of Threatened Ecological Communities Amendment (EC178) Instrument 2022
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Commonwealth of Australia
List of Threatened Ecological Communities Amendment (EC178) Instrument 2022
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 endangered category:
Dunn’s white gum (Eucalyptus dunnii) moist forest in north-east New South Wales and south-east Queensland
as described in the Schedule to this instrument.
This instrument commences the day after registration.
Tanya Plibersek
...................................................................................
Tanya Plibersek
Minister for the Environment and Water
Dated............5th August 2022....................................
SCHEDULE 1
Dunn’s white gum (Eucalyptus dunnii) moist forest in north-east New South Wales and south-east Queensland
Dunn’s white gum (Eucalyptus dunnii) moist forest in north-east New South Wales and south-east Queensland is an assemblage of native plants, animals and other organisms constituting at maturity a type of wet sclerophyll forest with a typically tall canopy of eucalypts, notably Eucalyptus dunnii (Dunn’s white gum), and typically a structurally complex understorey of rainforest trees, shrubs, palms, vines, ferns, herbs and shade-tolerant graminoids.
The canopy consists of Eucalyptus dunnii (Dunn’s white gum) in pure stands or in combination with E. saligna (Sydney blue gum), E. grandis (Flooded gum), E. microcorys (Tallowwood) and/or Lophostemon confertus (Brush box). Some rainforest trees that are more typically found in the mid-layer can also occur in the canopy.
In most cases, the understorey is composed of regenerating eucalypt species and mature rainforest species including Araucaria cunninghamii (hoop pine), Diploglottis australis (large leaf tamarind), and Toona ciliata var. australis (Australian red cedar). The understorey may also contain colonising rainforest species in the families Myrtaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lauraceae, and Meliaceae, as well as tall shrubs and vines. These may include Neolitsea australiensis (green bolly gum), N. dealbata (hairy-leaved bolly gum), Alectryon subcinereus (native quince), Cryptocarya rigida (rose maple), C. glaucescens (forest maple), Diospyros australis (black plum), Polyscias elegans (celery wood), Acacia maidenii (Maiden’s wattle), Rhodamnia rubescens (scrub turpentine), Syzygium smithii (common lilly pilly), Croton verreauxii (native cascarilla), Cordyline petiolaris (palm lily), C. stricta (slender palm lily), Cissus hypoglauca (native grape), and C. antarctica (kangaroo vine).
In long-unburnt patches of the ecological community the ground layer is dominated by ferns (commonly including: Adiantum formosum, Lastreopsis spp., Hypolepis glanduligera, Doodia aspera, and Dennstaedtia davalliodes), vines (commonly including: Solori involuta, Palmeria scandens, and Rubus hillii), and forbs (commonly including: Pollia cristata, Alpinia caerulea, and Alocasia brisbanensis). Graminoids typical of the ecological community include shade tolerant species such as Imperata cylindrica and Lomandra longifolia.
The ecological community occurs in the NSW North Coast bioregion and adjacent bioregions in South Eastern Queensland and New England Tablelands, with a scattered distribution north from Dorrigo and Coffs Harbour in New South Wales to Warwick and Canungra in Queensland. It is more commonly found at the margins of rainforests on the lower slopes of hills and escarpments and in the valley bottoms but may also occur on upper slopes and basalt ridges. It typically occurs on deep, fertile soils, and is largely confined to fertile basaltic derived soils, or fine-grained sediments of colluvium or alluvium depending on upstream environments.
The ecological community also includes a variety of fauna species, including several species that are listed as threatened at a national or state level.