Vegetation and Flora Report
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March 2009 FERRAUS LIMITED ROBERTSON RANGE (M52/1034) Vegetation and Flora Report Version 1 1025 Wellington Street WEST PERTH WA 6005 phone: 9322 1944 fax: 9322 1599 ACN 088 821 425 ABN 63 088 821 425 www.ecologia.com.au ROBERTSON RANGE VEGETATION AND FLORA SURVEY Document Status Approved for Issue Rev No. Author Reviewer Name Distributed to Date 1 M. Hay C. Cox and Christina 1 C. Winton D. Uttley 4th March 2008 M. Hay Cox © ecologia Environment (2009). Reproduction of this report in whole or in part by electronic, mechanical or chemical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, in any language, is strictly prohibited without the express approval of ecologia Environment and/or FerrAus Limited. Restrictions on Use This report has been prepared specifically for FerrAus Limited. Neither the report nor its contents may be referred to or quoted in any statement, study, report, application, prospectus, loan, or other agreement document, without the express approval of ecologia Environment and/or FerrAus Limited. ecologia Environment 1025 Wellington Street West Perth WA 6005 Ph: 08 9322 1944 Fax: 08 9322 1599 Email: [email protected] FEBRUARY 2009 Page i ROBERTSON RANGE VEGETATION AND FLORA SURVEY Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 1.1 PROJECT LOCATION ...............................................................................................1 1.2 LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK....................................................................................3 1.3 SURVEY OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................4 2 EXISTING ENVIRONMENT .......................................................................................5 2.1 CLIMATE....................................................................................................................5 2.2 GEOLOGY..................................................................................................................7 2.3 LAND SYSTEM CLASSIFICATION............................................................................7 2.4 SOILS.........................................................................................................................9 2.5 BIOGEOGRAPHIC REGIONS ...................................................................................9 2.5.1 The Gascoyne Bioregion..............................................................................9 2.5.2 The Little Sandy Desert................................................................................9 2.5.3 The Pilbara .................................................................................................10 2.6 PREVIOUS BIOLOGICAL SURVEYS ......................................................................11 2.7 LAND USE HISTORY...............................................................................................11 3 VEGETATION AND FLORA ....................................................................................13 3.1 SURVEY METHODS................................................................................................13 3.1.1 Survey Timing.............................................................................................13 3.1.2 Floristic Survey Sites..................................................................................13 3.1.3 Opportunistic Collections............................................................................14 3.1.4 Vegetation Mapping....................................................................................14 3.1.5 Survey Limits and Constraints....................................................................14 3.2 VEGETATION ASSEMBLAGES ..............................................................................17 3.2.1 Vegetation Described by Beard (1975) ......................................................17 3.2.2 Vegetation Units of the Survey Area ..........................................................18 3.2.3 Vegetation Condition ..................................................................................25 3.2.4 Burn History................................................................................................25 3.3 ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES................................................................................28 3.3.1 State and Nationally Recognised Threatened and Priority Ecological Communities...............................................................................................28 3.4 FLORA .....................................................................................................................28 3.4.1 Results from Current Survey ......................................................................28 3.4.2 Comparison with Other Surveys in the vicinity of the Robertson Range Project Area................................................................................................28 3.4.3 Sampling Adequacy....................................................................................29 3.4.4 Taxonomy of two commonly occurring Acacia’s.........................................30 3.5 FLORA OF CONSERVATION SIGNIFICANCE .......................................................31 3.5.1 Statutory Framework ..................................................................................31 3.5.2 Database Searches....................................................................................31 3.5.3 Declared Rare or Priority Flora Previously Recorded in the Vicinity of the Project Area................................................................................................32 3.5.4 Conservation Significant Flora Species that Could Occur in the Robertson Range Project Area ....................................................................................32 FEBRUARY 2009 Page ii ROBERTSON RANGE VEGETATION AND FLORA SURVEY 3.5.5 Declared Rare or Priority Flora Recorded within the Robertson Range Project Area................................................................................................34 3.6 INTRODUCED FLORA.............................................................................................34 4 CONSERVATION SIGNIFICANCE..........................................................................35 4.1 INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE .....................................................35 4.2 STATE SIGNIFICANCE ...........................................................................................35 4.3 REGIONAL SIGNIFICANCE ....................................................................................35 4.3.1 Vegetation ..................................................................................................35 4.3.2 Flora ...........................................................................................................36 4.4 LOCAL SIGNIFICANCE ...........................................................................................36 4.4.1 Vegetation and Flora ..................................................................................36 4.5 BIODIVERSITY ........................................................................................................37 5 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS .................................................................................38 6 MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................39 7 STUDY TEAM ..........................................................................................................41 8 REFERENCES.........................................................................................................42 Tables Table S.1 – Conformance of project to relevant EPA statements. ..........................................vii Table 2.1 – Long-term climate data for Newman. ....................................................................6 Table 2.2 – Rainfall recorded at Newman in 2006, 2007 and 2008. ........................................6 Table 2.3 – Geology of the Robertson Range project area......................................................7 Table 2.4 – Land systems of the Robertson Range project area. ............................................8 Table 3.1 – Flora survey constraints and their relevance to the survey. ................................16 Table 3.2 – Vegetation Units recorded during the Robertson Range survey. ........................20 Table 3.3 – Vegetation condition assessment........................................................................25 Table 3.4 – Flora records from previous surveys. ..................................................................29 Table 3.5 – Rare and Priority Flora with potential to occur in the project area.......................33 Figures Figure 1.1 – Location of the Robertson Range project area. ...................................................2 Figure 2.1 – Summary of long-term temperature and rainfall data for Newman. .....................5 Figure 2.2 – Land systems of the Robertson Range project area............................................8 Figure 2.3 – IBRA Biogeographic regions and subregions of and surrounding the Robertson Range project area. .............................................................................................10 Figure 3.1 – Sites surveyed at the Robertson Range project area. .......................................15 Figure 3.2 – Beard’s vegetation of the Robertson Range