Palerang
Indicator: Ecological Communities
Results for this indicator are also available for [an error occurred while processing this directive]
What the results tell us for Palerang
Sixty-two vegetation communities have been recorded within Palerang Council area, 24 of which are considered of conservation significance. The Council area may also contain occurrences of six ecological communities listed as endangered Nationally or in New South Wales (NSW), one of which was gazetted during the current reporting period. One wetland of national importance is also located within the Council area.
It was not possible to accurately assess changes to the extent and condition of native vegetation in the Council area during the current reporting period. No information was available on vegetation cleared. Over the reporting period, seven wildfires occurred in the Council area; however no information was available of the size of these fires.
No information is available on whether vegetation communities considered to be poorly represented within the broader region's reserve system in the previous reporting period met reservation targets within the current 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 Council area.
Vegetation communities in the Council
Sixty-two vegetation communities (or ecosystems) have been recorded within Palerang Council area (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 Council area at the time of writing (see About the data). These vegetation classifications are still current, however Eden CRA classifications were incorporated (almost unchanged) into the new South Coast and 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 SCIVI has superseded the Southern CRA region, however does not fully encompass the Canberra region, overlapping much of the Southern CRA region, but not extending as far west.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.
Fourteen of the forest vegetation communities that occur within the Council area 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 10 communities were still considered poorly represented within the region's reserve system in 2004. No information was available on changed status or reservation targets being met for these communities during the current reporting period.
| Forest vegetation communities | CRA Number | Area (ha)# |
Vulnerable* | Poorly Reserved* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 2000 | 1997 | ||||
| Araluen Acacia Herb/Grass Dry Forest | S51 | 4,780 | + | + | ||
| Central Coastal Hinterland and Lowland Warm Temperate Rainforest | S166 | 110 | ||||
| Coastal Escarpment and Hinterland Dry Shrub/Fern Forest | S19 | 1,270 | ||||
| Coastal Escarpment Cool Temperate Rainforest | S164 | 260 | ||||
| Coastal Escarpment Moist Shrub/Fern Forest | S137 | 1,190 | ||||
| Coastal Lowlands Cycad Dry Shrub Dry Forest | S9 | 1 | + | + | + | |
| Coastal Shrub/Grass Forest | S171 | 1 | + | + | + | + |
| Deua Ecotonal Shrub Forest | S34 | 4 | ||||
| Deua Ryolite Dry Shrub Forest | S40 | 4 | ||||
| Eastern Tableland and Escarpment Shrub/Fern Dry Forest | S59 | 11,870 | ||||
| Eastern Tableland Dry Shrub/Grass Forest | S73 | 18,620 | + | + | + | + |
| Eastern Tableland Fern/Herb/Grass Moist Forest | S55 | 21,170 | + | + | ||
| Eastern Tablelands Acacia/Herb/Grass Forest | S89 | 9,420 | + | + | ||
| Eastern Tablelands Dry Heath | S134 | 3,060 | ||||
| Eastern Tablelands Dry Shrub Forest | S112 | 6,900 | + | + | + | |
| Eastern Tablelands Shrub/Grass Moist Forest | S66 | 3,030 | + | + | + | + |
| Ecotonal Granite Dry Rainforest | S168 | 130 | + | + | ||
| Kowmung Dry Shrub Forest | S17 | 80 | ||||
| Montane Wet Heath/Bog | S123126 | 870 | ||||
| Morton Plateau Mallee Swamp Low Forest | S176 | 3,910 | ||||
| North East Tableland Dry Shrub Forest | S15 | 8,480 | + | + | + | |
| North East Tablelands Dry Shrub/Grass Forest | S113 | 25,830 | + | + | + | |
| North East Tablelands Shrub/Herb/Grass Dry Forest | S68 | 6,150 | + | + | + | |
| Northern Coastal Hinterland Heath Shrub Dry Forest | S139 | 850 | + | + | + | |
| Northern Foothills Moist Shrub Forest | S21 | 3 | + | + | + | |
| Northern Hinterland Shrub Dry Forest | S3 | 40 | ||||
| Northern Plateau and Escarpment Heath Shrub Dry Forest | S138 | 5,380 | ||||
| Northern Slopes Dry Grass Woodland | S160 | 710 | + | + | + | + |
| Northern Tablelands Acacia Herb/Grass Dry Forest | S90 | 280 | + | + | + | + |
| Rainshadow Dry Shrub/Tussock Grass Forest | S13 | 230 | ||||
| Riparian Acacia Shrub/Grass/Herb Forest | S53 | 260 | + | + | ||
| Shoalhaven Gorge Dry Shrub Forest | S16 | 1,130 | ||||
| Shoalhaven Gorge Forest | S174 | 30 | ||||
| South Coast and Byadbo Acacia Scrubs | S35 | 20 | ||||
| South East Tablelands Dry Shrub/Tussock Grass Forest | S115 | 20 | + | + | + | |
| South Eastern Tablelands Dry Shrub/Grass/Herb Forest | S74 | 16,910 | + | + | + | + |
| Southern Coastal Foothills Dry Shrub Forest | S1 | 6,720 | ||||
| Southern Coastal Hinterland Dry Gully Rainforest | S170 | 3 | + | + | ||
| Southern Coastal Hinterland Moist Shrub/Vine/Grass Forest | S18 | 670 | ||||
| Southern East Tableland Edge Shrub/Grass Dry Forest | S64 | 20 | + | + | ||
| Southern Escarpment Edge Moist Heath Forest | S65 | 30 | ||||
| Southern Escarpment Edge Moist Shrub Forest | S61 | 580 | ||||
| Southern Escarpment Edge Moist Shrub/Fern Forest | S62 | 3,100 | ||||
| Southern Escarpment Herb/Grass Dry Forest | S50 | 8,000 | ||||
| Southern Escarpment Shrub/Fern/Herb Moist Forest | S57 | 15,010 | ||||
| Southern Hinterland Shrub/Herb/Grass Riparian Forest | S49 | 5 | ||||
| Tableland Acacia Moist Herb Forest | S95 | 1,540 | ||||
| Tableland Acacia/Herb/Grass Forest | S104 | 1,430 | ||||
| Tableland Alluvial Valley Floor Wetlands | S191 | 90 | + | + | + | + |
| Tableland and Escarpment Moist Herb/Fern Grass Forest | S56 | 16,760 | + | + | ||
| Tableland and Escarpment Wet Layered Shrub Forest | S58 | 2,110 | ||||
| Tableland Dry Grassy Woodland | S154 | 30 | + | + | + | + |
| Tableland Dry Herb/Grass Woodland | S146 | 5 | + | + | + | + |
| Tableland Herb/Grassland | S152 | 1 | + | + | + | + |
| Tableland Tussock Grassland /Sedgeland/ Woodland | S148 | 880 | + | + | + | + |
| Tablelands Acacia/Grass/Herb Dry Forest | S92 | 290 | + | + | + | + |
| Tablelands and Slopes Dry Herb/Grass Woodland | S161 | 530 | + | + | + | + |
| Tablelands and Slopes Herb/Grassland/ Woodland | S153 | 350 | + | + | + | + |
| Tablelands Dry Shrub/Grass Forest | S110 | 20 | + | + | ||
| Tablelands Dry Shrub/Tussock Grass Forest | S114 | 6,060 | + | + | + | |
| Tablelands Shrub/Tussock Grass Forest | S75 | 2,960 | ||||
| Widespread Tablelands Dry Shrub/Tussock Grass Forest | S109 | 15,620 | + | + | + | |
CRA prefix S = forest ecosystems classified under the Southern CRA; # Extent in Council 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 Climate Change
Endangered ecological communities
Palerang Council area may have occurrences of six ecological communities listed as critically endangered or endangered Nationally or in NSW (Note: threatened ecological community lists are generated based on Bioregions). Three are listed under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, three are listed under the Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Three of these ecological communities had final determinations made during the current reporting period (DECC 2008b; DEWHA 2008c).
* 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
Lake George is the only nationally significant wetland listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (DEWHA 2008a) that occurs within or intersects the Council area. It is not reserved and the surrounding landuse is grazing and bushland. No Ramsar sites (that is, internationally important wetlands) have been declared within the Council area.
A flora survey of south-east Yarrowlumla (now part of Palerang and Queanbeyan City Council areas) in 1997 identified a number of remnant vegetation areas as being of particular conservation significance (Barrer 1997). They included bushlands of the Mt Foxlow-Harrisons Peak, bushlands of Captains Flat, private reserve north of 'Bililingra' and some portions of land in Butmaroo.
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 Palerang Council area during the previous reporting period. Increased fragmentation and clearing have both been identified as particular threats to the six endangered ecological communities with occurrences in the Council area. No information is available on the extent of native vegetation clearing in Palerang Council area 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).
No information was available on mapped vegetation change relating to extent of native vegetation in the Council area in the current and previous reporting periods.
The total area of vegetation cleared within Palerang Council area was not available, however a total 71.1 hectares of vegetation was approved for clearing within the Southern Rivers and Murrumbidgee Catchment regions, which together encompass the Council area, during the reporting period.
Pressures on vegetation condition
Factors such as drought and weed invasion (including the spread of St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) and the noxious pasture grasses Serrated Tussock (Nassella trichotoma) and African Lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula)) asserted broadscale pressure on the condition of native vegetation in Palerang Council area during the current reporting period.
Over the current period, fire was likely a pressure on native vegetation condition in the area. Available data provided by the NSW Rural Fire Service indicate that 3.5 hectares of land were burnt in Palerang Council during the current reporting periods, all for prescription burns.
Seven wildfires occurred within Palerang Council during the current reporting period. No information was available on areas burnt by these wildfires during the current reporting period. 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). The severity of wildfires in the previous reporting period is unknown but they affected 25 forest vegetation communities.
General threats to the condition of the six threatened ecological communities with occurrences in the Council area 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 and
- climate change.
Changes to water tables and surface flows caused by drainage works or altered flows in catchments are also general threats to the endangered Montane peatlands and swamps of the New England Tableland, NSW North Coast, Sydney Basin, South East Corner, South Eastern Highlands and Australian Alps bioregions, Upland Wetlands of the New England Tablelands and the Monaro Plateau (DECC 2008a, DEWHA 2008b).
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 development 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 previous 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.
The Palerang Council area is located within the Murrumbidgee and Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority (CMA) areas 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) and South East Catchment Blueprint (South East Catchment Management Board 2002), both completed during the previous reporting period, include a range of management actions to restore, maintain or conserve biodiversity values in each catchment area.
The document "A Planning Framework for Natural Ecosystems of the ACT and NSW Southern Tablelands" (Faulding 2002), launched in March 2003, covers parts of Palerang. The Framework enables planning for conservation and sustainable urban and rural development in the region, and is designed for use by various land managers and planners. Among other things, it identifies areas of varying conservation value, describes broad vegetation types, links data on vegetation types with threatened species habitat, provides threatened species mapping and outlines issues that need to be addressed.
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
In 2004 it was reported that 21 national parks, nature reserves and state conservation areas either fall within or intersect Palerang Council area, covering approximately 75,950 hectares or 15% of its area. No specific information was available on new conservation reserves or additions to existing conservation reserves, however it is estimated that the area has increased by about 1% of the Council area.
No information was available on forest communities which were 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 due to new reserves or additions to the regional reserve system within the current reporting period.
| Conservation reserve^ | Gazettal Type# | Area (ha) |
No. of significant communities+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vulnerable | Poorly reserved | |||
| Tinderry NR | Additions | 90 | 1 | 2(1) |
^ NP = National Park; NR = Nature Reserve; SCA = State Conservation Area; # New = new conservation reserves gazetted in the reporting period; Additions = additions to existing conservation reserves within the reporting period; + For definitions of Vulnerable and Poorly Reserved communities, see About the data; * Numbers in brackets are those poorly reserved forest ecosystems whose reservation targets within the CRA region were met during the timeframe shown; Source: NSW Department of Environment and Conservation
At the time of reporting, at least seven of the 20 conservation reserves within the Council area had formal plans of management in place—Budawang and Morton National Parks (plans adopted October 2001), Yanununbeyan National Park, Nature Reserve and State Conservation Area (plan adopted May 2005), Araluen Nature Reserve (plan adopted 2008). Nadgigomar Nature Reserve had a fire management plan prepared (adopted 21 January 2008).
Other conservation management
Council has a draft Roadside Management Strategy which covers the management of roadside vegetation within Palerang Council area. Council also uses the Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment Remnant Roadside Vegetation Survey, completed by Greening Australia in 1998, to assist it in managing roadside vegetation (Bromley 2005).
In 2004 it was reported that three privately owned properties in the Council area had a Voluntary Conservation Agreements (VCAs) in place, while another 24 were designated wildlife refuges during the previous reporting period. The VCAs cover a total of 304 hectares and the wildlife refuges 21,404 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.
Twenty-six Landcare groups operated within Palerang Council area. For information on the range of activities occurring there and in the Murrumbidgee and Southern Rivers catchments, 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 Council area. No information was available on these projects.
About the data
Forest vegetation communities referred to in this report were derived from the Southern Comprehensive Regional Assessment (CRA) forest ecosystem mapping, undertaken in 1999. 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 two CRAs (Eden (mapping carried out in 1998) and Southern) 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 focussed primarily of 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 Council area 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 LGA’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 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 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)).
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
Barrer, P (1997) The Flora of South-East Yarrowlumla – A Preliminary Assessment, report to the Save the Bush Grants Scheme and the Stoney Creek Landcare Group.
Bromley, K (2005) Environmental Coordinator, Palerang Council, personal communication.
DECC—see Department of Environment and Climate 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.htmlDepartment of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (NSW) (2004a), 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)
Fallding, M (2002) A planning framework for natural ecosystems of the ACT and NSW Southern Tablelands, Natural Heritage Trust, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Land and Environment Planning, on-line at http://incp.environment.act.gov.au/planningframework/index.aspx.
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.
Rehwinkel, R (2005) Threatened Species Officer, Department of Environment and Conservation, Queanbeyan, personal communication.
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.
South East Catchment Management Board (2002) South East Catchment Blueprint – An Integrated Catchment Management Plan for the South East Catchment 2002, NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation, Sydney, viewed 4 August 2005, http://www.dlwc.nsw.gov.au/care/cmb/blueprints/pdf/south_east_blueprint.pdf.
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
