Tumut
Indicator: Ecological Communities
Results for this indicator are also available for [an error occurred while processing this directive]
What the results tell us for Tumut
Forty-seven vegetation communities have been recorded within Tumut Shire, 16 of which are considered to be of conservation significance. The Shire may also contain occurrences of four ecological communities listed as critically endangered or endangered nationally or within NSW. One wetland of national importance is in the Shire.
It was not possible to assess accurately changes to the extent and condition of native vegetation in the Shire during the current reporting period. No information was available on vegetation cleared, or vegetation affected by wild fires during the current reporting period. About 1463 hectares of land were reported to have been subject to hazard reduction burns in 2004–08. Seven separate wildfires occurred during the current reporting period, however no information is available on areas burnt by these wildfires.
No information was available on whether reservation targets vegetation were met for communities considered to be poorly represented within the broader region's reserve system in the previous reporting period.
No information was available on Voluntary Conservation Agreements or wildlife refuges during the current reporting period. No information was available on activities carried out during the reporting period that enhanced the conservation of ecological communities in the Shire.
Vegetation communities in the Shire
Forty-seven vegetation communities (or ecosystems) have been recorded within Tumut Shire (see Table 1). These communities were classified as part of the Southern Comprehensive Regional Assessment (CRA) program in south-eastern NSW over 1999 which provided the best coverage and most consistent description of vegetation in the Shire at the time of writing this State of the Environment report (see About the data). These vegetation classifications are still current, however Eden CRA classifications were incorporated (almost unchanged) into the new South Coast - Illawarra Vegetation Integration (SCIVI) classification system (Tozer et.al 2006), and completely overlap the Eden CRA region. SCIVI has superseded the Southern CRA region, however does not fully encompass the Canberra region, overlapping much of the Southern CRA region, but not extending as far west. SCIVI does not include western vegetation classification types therefore was not applicable to this report.
Thirteen of the forest vegetation communities that occur within the Shire were considered vulnerable in 1999 (see Table 1), i.e. they were approaching 70% clearance of their pre-1750 extent. In the context of the CRA region, an additional three communities were still considered poorly represented within the region's reserve system in 2004. No information is available to determine the number of communities still poorly represented within those regions' reserve systems in 2008.
| Forest vegetation communities | CRA Number | Area(ha)# | Vulnerable* | Poorly Reserved* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 2000 | 1997 | ||||
| ACT Dry Shrub/Herb Forest | S80 | 2 | ||||
| Alpine Wet Herbfield and Sub-alpine Wet Herb/Grassland/Bog | S129133 | 2,030 | ||||
| Brindabella Montane Dry Fern/Grass Forest | S102 | 830 | ||||
| Burrinjuck Acacia Dry Herb/Grass Forest | S91 | 40 | + | + | ||
| Central Tableland/ACT Montane Dry Shrub Forest | S107 | 2,070 | ||||
| Central Tablelands Shrub/Grass Dry Forest | S76 | 3,930 | + | + | + | + |
| Eastern Tablelands Acacia/Herb/Grass Forest | S89 | 150 | + | + | ||
| Montane / Sub-Alpine Dry Rocky Shrubland | S36 | 130 | ||||
| Montane Acacia/Dry Shrub/Herb/Grass Forest | S97 | 16,000 | ||||
| Montane Dry Shrub/Herb/Grass Forest | S99 | 7,430 | ||||
| Montane Dry Shrub/Tussock Forest | S106 | 29,610 | ||||
| Montane Riparian Moist Shrub/Grass/Herb Forest | S83 | 310 | ||||
| Montane Riparian Moist Shrub/Sedge/Grass Forest | S85 | 540 | ||||
| Montane Wet Heath/Bog | S123 | 110 | ||||
| Montane Wet Heath/Herb Grassland | S125 | 30 | ||||
| Northern Slopes Dry Grass Woodland | S160 | 20 | + | + | + | + |
| North-Western Montane Dry Shrub/Herb/Grass Forest | S101 | 16,010 | ||||
| Riparian Acacia Shrub/Grass/Herb Forest | S53 | 110 | + | + | ||
| South West Slopes Acacia Dry Herb/Grass Forest | S94 | 920 | + | + | + | + |
| Sub-alpine Dry Shrub/Herb Woodland | S128 | 6,690 | ||||
| Sub-alpine Dry Shrub/Herb/Grass Woodland | S127 | 80 | ||||
| Sub-alpine Herbfield | S131 | 4,310 | ||||
| Sub-alpine Shrub/Grass Woodland (120) Sub-alpine Woodlands | S130 | 1,070 | ||||
| Tableland Acacia/Herb/Grass Forest | S104 | 25,380 | ||||
| Tableland and Escarpment Wet Layered Shrub Forest | S58 | 560 | ||||
| Tableland Dry Heath Shrub/Herb/Grass Woodland | S38 | 280 | ||||
| Tableland Dry Herb/Grass Woodland | S146 | 330 | + | + | + | + |
| Tableland Tussock Grassland /Sedgeland/ Woodland | S148 | 90 | + | + | + | + |
| Tablelands Acacia/Grass/Herb Dry Forest | S92 | 280 | + | + | + | + |
| Tablelands Dry Shrub/Grass Forest | S110 | 7,250 | + | + | ||
| Tablelands Dry Shrub/Tussock Grass Forest | S114 | 290 | + | + | + | |
| Western Escarpment Moist Shrub/Herb/Grass Forest | S87 | 8,160 | ||||
| Western Montane Acacia Fern/Herb Forest | S82 | 40,630 | ||||
| Western Montane Dry Fern/Grass Forest | S103 | 9,730 | ||||
| Western Montane Moist Shrub Forest | S98 | 14,340 | ||||
| Western Montane Wet Heath/Herb Grass Woodland | S124 | 2,570 | + | + | + | |
| Western Slopes Dry Grass Forest | S118 | 180 | + | + | + | + |
| Western Slopes Dry Grass Woodland | S117 | 90 | + | + | + | + |
| Western Slopes Grass/Herb Dry Forest | S121 | 18,560 | + | + | + | |
| Western Slopes Herb/Grass Woodland | S116 | 1,480 | + | + | + | + |
| Western Slopes Riparian Moist Sedge Woodland | S43 | 10 | + | + | + | + |
| Western Slopes Shrub/Herb/Grass Dry Forest | S120 | 740 | + | + | + | + |
| Western Sub-alpine Moist Shrub Forest | S86 | 4,060 | ||||
| Western Tableland Dry Shrub Forest | S71 | 760 | ||||
| Western Tablelands Dry Herb/Grass Forest | S108 | 18,190 | ||||
| Western Tablelands Dry Shrub/Grass Forest | S119 | 8,360 | + | + | + | + |
| Western Tablelands Herb/Grass Dry Forest | S93 | 4,460 | + | + | + | + |
CRA Id prefix S = forest ecosystems classified under the Southern CRA; # Extent in Shire in 1999, the date of the Southern CRA mapping; * For definitions of Vulnerable and Poorly Reserved, see About the data; Source: NSW Department of Environment and Conservation
Endangered ecological communities
Tumut Shire may contain four threatened ecological communities listed as endangered or critically endangered within NSW or nationally (Note: threatened ecological community lists are generated based on Bioregions). Two are listed under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, two are listed under the Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Two communities had their final determinations made during the current reporting period (DECC 2008b; DEHWA 2008c).
| Name of ecological community | Status | Date of determination* | Recovery Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montane peatlands and swamps of the New England Tableland, NSW North Coast, Sydney Basin, South East Corner, South Eastern Highlands and Australian Alps bioregions | Endangered in NSW* | Final: 17 December 2004 | No |
| Natural temperate grasslands of the Southern Tablelands of NSW and the ACT | Endangered nationally# | Prior to 16 July 2000 | In Preparation |
| White Box Yellow Box Blakely's Red Gum woodland | Endangered in NSW* | Final: 15 March 2002 | No |
| White Box-Yellow Box-Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland and Derived Native Grassland | Critically Endangered nationally# | Final: 17 May 2006 | In Preparation |
* Determinations (preliminary and final) under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 made by the NSW Scientific Committee; Source: DECC 2004a–c, 2008a–h
Other significant communities or habitats
One nationally significant wetland listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (DEWHA 2008a), Micalong Swamp occurs within the Shire. This wetland is not reserved and the surrounding land use is State Forest. There are no Ramsar sites (i.e. internationally important wetlands) either occur within or intersect the Shire.
The Riverglade wetland located on the edge of Tumut township is considered regionally significant, especially as a drought refuge for fauna (particularly birds) and a corridor link to other wetlands (Janet Mackay and Associates 2003). The sewage settling ponds are also an important habitat within the wetlands (Janet Mackay and Associates 2003).
Vegetation extent and condition
Pressures on vegetation extent
Loss of native vegetation continues to be one of the greatest threats to Australia’s biodiversity. The clearing of native vegetation is a threatening process affecting both ecosystems and species (DEHWA 2006). Even if all clearing were to cease now, the decline in vegetation condition is likely to continue for many years, because of the lag effects of vegetation fragmentation and growing pressure from climate change (DECC 2006). The main responses are the Native Vegetation Act 2003 (and supporting Regulations) and improved compliance monitoring. The new legislative regime is expected to provide a means to address this issue.
Clearing was the main pressure on the extent of native vegetation in Tumut Shire during the previous reporting period. Increased fragmentation and clearing have both have been identified as particular threats to the four threatened ecological communities with occurrences in the Shire. No information is available on the extent of native vegetation clearing in Tumut Shire during the current reporting period. It appears that the trend in the overall rate of clearing is difficult to accurately assess.
During 2000–04, seven forest communities were impacted by harvesting, three of which were rated vulnerable and poorly reserved respectively in July 2000. No information was available on mapped vegetation change relating to extent of native vegetation in the Shire in the current and previous reporting periods.
A total of 28.3 hectares of vegetation was approved for clearing within the Murrumbidgee Catchment region under the NSW Native Vegetation Act 2003, which encompasses Tumut Shire, during the reporting period. No information was available on clearing applications approved, including clearing areas, within the Shire during the reporting period.
Pressures on vegetation condition
Wildfire is likely to have been a major broadscale pressure impacting the condition of native vegetation in parts of Tumut Shire during the current reporting period. About 1463 ha of land were affected by control burns in the period 2004–2008. Seven separate wildfires occurred within the Shire during the current reporting period, however no information is available on areas burnt by these wildfires.
No information is available on the number of forest communities affected by very low severity fires (generally fuel reduction burns) or by fires of unknown severity (generally wildfires).
Other factors such as drought and weed invasion (including the spread of noxious plants such as Willow (Salix spp), Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus), St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum), Paterson's Curse (Echium spp), Scotch/English Broom (Cytisus scoparius) and Gorse (Ulex europaeus)) also asserted broadscale pressure on vegetation condition within the Shire during the current reporting period.
General threats to the condition of the four endangered ecological communities with occurrences in the Shire include (DECC 2008a; DEWHA 2008b):
- land degradation and fragmentation of remnants
- grazing and trampling by stock
- weed invasion
- erosion and sedimentation
- soil disturbance caused by feral animals
- harvesting of firewood and collection of on-ground woody debris
- high frequency or high intensity fires
- climate change.
Peat mining, and changes to water tables and surface flows caused by drainage works or altered flows in catchments, are also considered threats to the endangered montane peatlands and swamps (DECC 2008a).
Conservation and management
Law and policy
Some national and state laws require recovery plans or action plans to be prepared for endangered ecological communities, and for the presence of such communities to be taken into account during decision-making on developments applications. These laws also aim to minimise the effects of threatening processes on endangered ecological communities or prevent communities from becoming endangered. Laws such as the Native Vegetation Act 2003 (enacted during the current reporting period and replaced the Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997), also aim to minimise the effects of threatening processes and to protect, conserve and improve the condition of existing native vegetation, particularly at a local and regional level.
Tumut Shire is located within the Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Authority (CMA) area established under the NSW Catchment Management Authorities Act 2003. Each CMA is required to work in partnership with Local Government as well as other stakeholders, and must develop and administer a regional vegetation management plan. These plans and the catchment blueprints prepared by the catchment management boards which preceded the CMAs, also support the conservation of native ecosystems. The Murrumbidgee Catchment Blueprint (Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Board 2003), completed during the current reporting period, includes a range of management actions to restore, maintain or conserve biodiversity values in the catchment area.
Local government legislation, regulations and planning documents such as local environment plans (LEPs) may also provide some protection for ecological communities, or limit or prohibit certain activities that may lead to the further decline of endangered ecological communities.
Conservation reserves
Seven national parks, nature reserves and state conservation areas either fall within or intersect Tumut Shire, covering approximately 188,780 hectares or 41% of its area.
Four new conservation reserves totalling approximately 4,620 hectares were gazetted in the Shire during the previous reporting period, compared with no new reserves in the current period. Additions totalling about 10,680 hectares were made to three reserves in the previous period compared with no additions to reserves in the current period. Many of these additions during the previous period were outcomes of the Southern Regional Forest Agreement.
No information was available on forest communities considered poorly represented within the regional reserve system in 2004 meeting regional reservation targets during the current reporting period. No information was available on forest communities still classed as vulnerable changing their status within the current reporting period.
| Reserve | Date plan adopted |
|---|---|
| Bimberi Nature Reserve | January 1997 |
| Kosciuszko National Park | November 2000 |
| Minjary National Park | July 2004 |
| Mudjarn Nature Reserve | Draft plan January 2005 |
Source: DECC
Fire management plans were prepared for Ellerslie Nature Reserve, Minjary Nation Park, Mudjarn Nature Reserve and Wereboldera State Conservation Area during the current reporting period. A draft fire management strategy was prepared for Kosciuszko National Park, on public exhibition until 25 April 2008.
Other conservation management
Shire Council has roadside management guidelines which were developed following extensive roadside vegetation surveys. Surveyed roadsides were graded into high, medium or low conservation value sections, and suggestions detailed for their conservation or enhancement (Walker 1997). A draft management plan was developed during the current reporting period for the regionally important Riverglade wetlands (Janet Mackay and Associates 2003) to provide Shire Council with a strategic approach to the management of this area.
Two privately owned properties in the Shire had Voluntary Conservation Agreements (VCAs) in place, while another five were designated wildlife refuges during the previous reporting period. The VCAs cover a total of 44 hectares and the wildlife refuges 1,435 hectares. No information was available on the vegetation communities occurring within these VCAs and wildlife refuges, or whether plans of management or schemes of operation had been developed or implemented for them. No information was available on these conservation initiatives during the current reporting period.
Three Landcare groups operated in Tumut Shire. For information on the range of activities occurring there and in the Murrumbidgee catchment, see the Landcare NSW website.
Community groups, Shire Council and/or other organisations may have undertaken various projects during the reporting period that enhanced the protection of ecological communities in the Shire. No information was available on these projects.
No information was available on revegetation projects, native vegetation preserved or fencing of remnant vegetation during the current reporting period.
About the data
Forest vegetation communities referred to in this report were derived from the Eden and Southern Comprehensive Regional Assessment (CRA) forest ecosystem mapping. This mapping was undertaken in 1998 and 1999 respectively. All calculations are based on the extant and pre-1750 forest ecosystem layers. The extant forest ecosystem layers reflect the extent of these vegetation communities at the time of mapping.
Under the CRA mapping, a Vulnerable vegetation community was defined as one whose areal extent at the time of mapping was approaching 70% loss of its pre-European extent. A vegetation community was defined as Poorly Reserved when less than 15% of its pre-European extent was located in formal conservation reserves across the CRA region. Further information on the 70% clearing threshold and the 15% reservation threshold is provided in JANIS (1997).
The CRA mapping was used for this report because it provided the most current data which covered the entire extent of the majority of local government areas in the Australian Capital Region. However the mapping data have the following limitations:
- some mapped CRA ecosystem types may be inconsistent with vegetation on the ground because the CRA vegetation types were modelled and limited ground truthing was undertaken in some areas
- the vegetation classifications were focused primarily on forest vegetation types and may poorly reflect non-forest communities
- the vegetation classifications used to describe forest ecosystems were not a widely used system
- the vegetation classification systems used in the Eden and Southern CRAs differ and there may be some duplication of forest types at the borders of these two study areas.
No data were available regarding extant vegetation at 30 June 2008, and hence it was not possible to determine changes in the extent of forest communities within the Shire during the current reporting period. Overall vegetation condition assessment across the landscape is very difficult to achieve because remote sensing below the canopy level is still not possible (given current technology and cost requirement in achieving statistically significant results from survey) and the complexities of obtaining permission to enter private land for survey staff.
Mapping of the amount of vegetation cleared was not available at a scale suitable for application within the Shire’s boundaries, and reflects significant limitations in accurately assessing this indicator. Broadscale analyses under-estimate the overall rate of clearing because current techniques only operate under large map scales. Effectively this means that it only records removal of woody vegetation that is at least two metres tall with a canopy cover of 15% or more, excluding changes in sparse open woodlands and grasslands, which are extensive and among the most affected vegetation types in New South Wales (NSW).
Fine-scale remote-sensing studies allow a more accurate appraisal of clearing rates in woodlands, open woodlands and shrublands, however coverage is limited to particular regions of NSW. Authors using these methods in the NSW State of the Environment Report 2006 indicate that clearing rates are substantially greater (8–10 times higher) than the estimates obtained from the coarse-scale analyses referred to above. However, being regional, they provide an incomplete view of statewide clearing. The availability of accurate vegetation clearing data is of critical importance for future reporting purposes, due to the threat that this pressure represents to biodiversity.
Data on vegetation approved for clearing within Catchment Management Association regions under the NSW Native Vegetation Act 2003 was accessed through the DECC website under the Public register of approved clearing PVPs and development applications. Geographic analysis would reveal locations within Shire boundaries, however this was unavailable during the reporting period. The data collection system was changed in 2006 with the introduction of the new Regulations. These estimates exclude the area of vegetation cleared illegally and clearing carried out legally under statutory exemptions (in 2005, 40% of all clearing was estimated to be illegal in NSW (Audit Office 2006)).
Threats to each endangered ecological community was provided by DECC, under the NSW Scientific Committee - final determination page, and/or the Threatened Species, Populations and Ecological Communities endangered ecological communities profile page. The information contained in this database is available on the internet link under DECC 2008a in the references. New parks and additions to existing reserves was provided by DECC upon request, as the website only listed all the parks and reserves created over the last 12 months. Information on park and fire management plans, as well as recovery plans for endangered ecological communities was provided by DECC.
References
Audit Office 2006, Auditor-General's Report: Performance Audit, Department of Natural Resources – Regulating the Clearing of Native Vegetation, follow-up of 2002 performance audit, Audit Office of NSW, Sydney
DECC—see Department of Environment and Climate Climate Change (NSW)
DEHWA—see Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Commonwealth)
Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (NSW) (2004) 2003/04 Combined NSW Catchment Management Authorities Annual Report, Volume 1: CMA Activities and Achievements, Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources, Sydney.
DIPNR—see Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (NSW)
Janet Mackay and Associates (2003) Draft Riverglade Wetlands Management Plan, prepared by Janet Mackay in association with DSB Landscape Architects, Janet Mackay and Associates, Berridale.
JANIS—see Joint ANZECC/MCFFA National Forest Policy Statement Implementation Sub-committee
Joint ANZECC/MCFFA National Forest Policy Statement Implementation Sub-committee (1997) Nationally Agreed Criteria for the Establishment of a Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative Reserve System for Forests in Australia, Joint ANZECC/MCFFA National Forest Policy Statement Implementation Sub-committee, Commonwealth of Australia.
Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Board (2003) Murrumbidgee Catchment Blueprint, NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation, Sydney, viewed 4 August 2005 http://www.dlwc.nsw.gov.au/care/cmb/blueprints/pdf/murrumbidgee_blueprint.pdf.
Sattler P and Creighton C (eds) (2002) Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2002, National Land and Water Resources Audit on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia, Chapter 4: Threatened Ecosystems and Species, viewed 4 August 2005, http://audit.deh.gov.au/ANRA/vegetation/docs/biodiversity/bio_assess_threat.cfm.
Walker, K (1997) Tumut Shire Roadside Vegetation Survey and Management Guidelines, Greening Australia, South West Slopes, Wagga Wagga.
Tozer, M.G., Turner, K., Simpson, C., Keith, D.A., Beukers, P., MacKenzie, B., Tindall, D. and Pennay, C. (2006) Native vegetation of southeast NSW: a revised classification and map for the coast and eastern tablelands. Version 1.0. Department of Environment and Conservation and Department of Natural Resources
