Gundagai
Indicator: Ecological Communities
Results for this indicator are also available for [an error occurred while processing this directive]
What the results tell us for Gundagai
Five vegetation communities have been recorded within Gundagai Shire, all estimated to be of conservation significance. Other communities are also known to occur there, although some had not been described at the end of the current reporting period.
The Shire may contain occurrences of six ecological communities listed as critically endangered or endangered nationally or in New South Wales (NSW) (note: threatened ecological community lists are generated based on Bioregions). Four of these communities were gazetted in the current reporting period.No wetlands of national importance are located within 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.
One of the three conservation reserves within the Shire had a plan of management in place. No information was available on any voluntary conservation agreements in place, or private properties designated as wildlife refuges.
Vegetation communities in the Shire
Five vegetation communities (or ecosystems) classified by Priday (2005), as part of recent vegetation surveys of the NSW South Western Slopes region, have been recorded within Gundagai Shire (see Table 1). These surveys provided the best coverage and most consistent description of vegetation in the area.
Grassy box-gum Woodland (SouV24a) dominates much of the eastern half of the Shire, giving way to shrubby open forests (SouV39) at higher altitude. SouV24a also occurs in the far west of the Shire. Open forests with a variable canopy (WagM39a, WagM39b) are also widespread, particularly west of the town of Gundagai, with extensive remnants found in the south-western corner of the Shire. An isolated occurrence of open forest dominated by grey box, red ironbark and red box (WagM53a) occurs between Gundagai and Nangus (Priday 2005).
Much of the north-western corner of the Shire is occupied by the Tumut Trough Volcanics; vegetation occurring in this landscape had yet to be described at the time of preparing this State of the Environment Report. Honeysuckle Serpentinite, one of the smallest but most distinctive vegetation landscapes within the South Western Slopes Vegetation Study area (Priday 2005), occurs almost entirely within Gundagai Shire. This landscape contains two unique ecosystems that show affinities with a range of vegetation assemblages including grassy woodlands of the western parts of the South Western Slopes. Although an extensive cover of native vegetation remains in this landscape, it appears to have been significantly affected by long-term grazing by sheep (Priday 2005).
Other vegetation communities known to occur in the Shire include River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) Forest which remains as a narrow strip along the Murrumbidgee River in degraded and fragmented remnants (Mulvaney et al. 2005).
| Ecosystem | Description | Vegetation landscape | Soil parent materials | Estimated status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SouV39 | Shrubby open forests dominated by Red Stringybark, Red Box, Long-leaved Box, Blakely's Red Gum, Yellow Box and White Box | South Western Slopes Volcanics | Intrusive and extrusive volcanic rocks varying between transitional siliceous/intermediate (e.g. dacite) to mafic (e.g. basalt). | Vulnerable (possibly Endangered) |
| SouV24a | Grassy box-gum woodlands dominated by White Box, Yellow Box and Blakely's Red Gum | South Western Slopes Volcanics | Intrusive and extrusive volcanic rocks varying between transitional siliceous/intermediate (e.g. dacite) to mafic (e.g. basalt). | Endangered. Very few remnants resemble what is assumed to be the 'pre-1750' condition (<1% of former distribution). |
| WagM39a | Open forest with a variable canopy cover in which various combinations of Red Stringybark, White Box, Red Box, Red Ironbark, Scribbly Gum and Long-leaved Box occur. Understorey is mixed grassy / shrubby. | Wagga Wagga / Gundagai Metasediments / Sediments | Moderately to strongly folded and metamorphosed sediments. Rocks vary from relatively undeformed siltstone and sandstone to higher grade metamorphic rocks such as phyllites and schists. | Vulnerable |
| WagM39b | Similar to WagM39a except that Red Ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) and Scribbly Gum (E. rossii) are absent. Overall there appears to be a greater cover of herbaceous species in the understorey, although this is likely to be chiefly a reflection of differing land management, particularly grazing regimes. | Wagga Wagga / Gundagai Metasediments / Sediments | Moderately to strongly folded and metamorphosed sediments. Rocks vary from relatively undeformed siltstone and sandstone to higher grade metamorphic rocks such as phyllites and schists. | Near threatened |
| WagM53a | Open forests dominated by Grey Box, Red Ironbark and Red Box with occasional Red Stringybark, White Box and Blakely's Red Gum. Understorey is mostly shrubby but in some areas a grass and forb layer may be well developed. Found only in the Tarcutta region and the Brothers Mountain area between Gundagai and Nangus. | Wagga Wagga / Gundagai Metasediments / Sediments | Moderately to strongly folded and metamorphosed sediments. Rocks vary from relatively undeformed siltstone and sandstone to higher grade metamorphic rocks such as phyllites and schists. | Vulnerable |
Endangered ecological communities
Gundagai Shire may contain six ecological communities listed endangered or critically endangered within NSW or nationally (see Ecological communities) (DECC, 2008b; DEWHA 2000c) (Note: threatened ecological community lists are generated based on Bioregions). Four threatened communities are listed under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, two are listed under the Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Four of these communities were gazetted in the current reporting period.
| 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 |
| Fuzzy Box Woodland on alluvial Soils of the South Western Slopes, Darling Riverine Plains and Brigalow Belt South Bioregions | Endangered in NSW* | Final: September 24, 2004 | No |
| Inland Grey Box Woodland in the Riverina, NSW South Western Slopes, Cobar Peneplain, Nandewar and Brigalow Belt South Bioregions | Endangered in NSW* | Final: 27 April 2007 | No |
* 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
Most of the remaining large blocks of vegetation on private land in Gundagai Shire are dry forests on rocky ridgelines unsuitable for agriculture (Mulvaney et al. 2005). In many parts of the Shire, roadside vegetation is the only original native vegetation that remains; these remnants contain plant communities that are poorly preserved on surrounding private land and are particularly important for the conservation of understorey plant species sensitive to grazing pressure (Mulvaney et al. 2005). Roadsides and travelling stock reserves are also generally areas with the greatest plant diversity within the Shire (Mulvaney et al. 2005).
Isolated paddock trees and small patches of woodland less than two hectares provide the majority of remaining woodland cover within the Shire. These areas provide key habitat for many of the Shire's threatened species (Mulvaney et al. 2005).
No nationally significant wetlands listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (DEWHA 2008a) or Ramsar sites (that is, internationally important wetlands) either occur within or intersect the Shire.
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 operating on 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 Gundagai Shire during the previous reporting period. Increased fragmentation and clearing have both have been identified as particular threats to the six endangered ecological communities with occurrences in the Shire. No information is available on the extent of native vegetation clearing in Gundagai Shire during the current reporting period. It appears that the trend in the overall rate of clearing is difficult to accurately assess (see About the data).
Mapped vegetation change relating to extent of vegetation in the Shire in the current and previous reporting periods was not available at time of preparing this report.
Information available suggests 28.3 hectares of vegetation clearing applications were approved. No information was available on including total area of vegetation cleared under them, within the Shire during the reporting period under the NSW Native Vegetation Act 2003.
A total of 28.3 hectares of vegetation was approved for clearing within the Murrumbidgee Catchment region, which encompasses Gundagai Shire, under the NSW Native Vegetation Act 2003 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
Factors such as drought and the spread of noxious weeds asserted broadscale pressure on vegetation condition within Gundagai Shire during the current reporting period. Common threats to roadside vegetation include road maintenance, widening and construction, weed invasion, grazing, alteration to drainage, agricultural fertilisers and firewood collection (NSW NWPS 2002).
General threats to the condition of the six 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.
Rural Fire Service data indicates that about 478 hectares of land were reported to have been subject to hazard reduction burns in 2004–2008. Three separate wildfires occurred during the current reporting period, however no information is available on areas burnt by these wildfires. Fire may have asserted pressure on vegetation condition within some parts of Gundagai Shire during the current reporting period, however no information is available on impacts on vegetation communities.
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.
Gundagai 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 each catchment area. The Murrumbidgee CMA had yet to develop its regional vegetation plan as at June 2004.
Local government legislation, regulations and planning documents such as local environmental 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
Three nature reserves—Ulandra, Black Andrew and Ellerslie—either fall within or intersect Gundagai Shire, covering approximately 1060 hectares (less than 1% of the Shire).
Two conservation reserves—Black Andrew and Ellerslie—totalling approximately 970 hectares were gazetted in the Shire during the previous reporting period. It is not known what vegetation communities occur within these reserves. No new reserves were gazetted or additions made to existing reserves in the current reporting period.
Of the three conservation reserves within the Shire, Black Andrew and Ulandra Nature Reserve had a formal plan of management; the formers plan was adopted during the current reporting period.
Other conservation management
The retention, regeneration and rehabilitation of vegetation on private land, especially in agricultural areas, is crucial to the survival of native vegetation in Gundagai Shire, while the retention and enhancement of woodland remnants and their understorey is the key issue for retaining viable populations of threatened species within the Shire (Mulvaney et al. 2005).
Council and the NSW DECC have developed conservation management agreements for the Muttama Village and South Gundagai cemeteries, which contain remnants of the endangered grassy white box woodland and other high conservation value native plants.
No information was available on the number of privately owned properties in the Shire that have a Voluntary Conservation Agreement (VCA) in place. Last reporting period, four properties covering a total of 4,330 hectares were designated wildlife refuges. No information was available on the vegetation communities occurring within these wildlife refuges, or whether plans of management or schemes of operation had been developed or implemented for them. No information was available on the designation of additional wildlife refuges during the current reporting period.
Five Landcare groups operated within Gundagai Shire. For information on the range of activities occurring there and in the Murrumbidgee catchment, see the Landcare NSW website.
Community groups, 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.
About the data
Information regarding ecological communities within the Shire was provided by Steve Priday, who is undertaking vegetation mapping of the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Murray catchments in the NSW South Western Slopes region. The mapping was still in progress at the time of preparing this State of the Environment Report.
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.
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. 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 LGA 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).
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
Anon (2003) Southern Tablelands Grassy Ecosystems Conservation Management Network, The Austral Bugle Volume 1, Issue 2, Autumn 2003.
DECC—see Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW)
DEHWA—see Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Commonwealth)
Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW) (2008a) NSW Scientific Committee—Final Determination, (search on threatened ecological community - endangered ecological community listing), viewed 20 October 2008, http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/natureconservation.htm
Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW) (2008b) Threatened Species, Populations and Ecological Communities, Final determinations by date, viewed 22 October 2008, http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/committee/FinalDeterminations.htm
Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW) (2006), NSW State of the Environment Report 2006, Biodiversity http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/soe/soe2006/chapter6/chp_6.1.htm#6.1.60
Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Commonwealth) (2006), Australia State of the Environment 2006, Pressures on biodiversity http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/2006/publications/report/biodiversity-2.html
Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Commonwealth) (2008a) Australian Wetlands Database, Department of Environment and Heritage, viewed 22 October 2008, http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/wetlands/search.pl?smode=BOTH
Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Commonwealth) (2008b), Biodiversity, search on threatened ecological community, viewed October 2008, http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/index.html
Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Commonwealth) (2008c), EPBC Act List of Threatened Ecological Communities, Final determinations by date, viewed October 2008, http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/index.html
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.
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.
Mulvaney, M, Boak, M, Priday, S, Hudson, K and Crane, M (2005) The Native Vegetation of Gundagai Shire, NSW Department of Environment and Conservation, Queanbeyan.
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.
Priday, S (2005) The Native Vegetation of the NSW South Western Slopes; Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Murray Catchments, report in preparation for NSW Department of Environment and Conservation.
