5. App B Spring 2016 Flora and Fauna Survey.PDF
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Water Corporation Perth Desalination Plant Expansion Flora and Fauna Survey September 2017 Executive summary The Water Corporation required a biological assessment of an area adjacent to the Perth Desalination Plant at Kwinana, 29 km south of Perth. GHD Pty Ltd was commissioned to undertake the assessment of the survey area to define biological environmental values, including their location, conservation significance and management recommendations. The survey area is 15.10 ha and includes beach areas and other non-vegetated land. The field survey was undertaken in spring 2016 with reference to the Environmental Protection Authority Technical Guides for flora and fauna surveys. Key findings Vegetation and Flora Six vegetation types were identified with in the survey area, including four natural, shrubland types, one planted area, and one grass with isolated shrubs. Highly disturbed areas and beach/ocean were also present within the survey area. The vegetation present within the survey area is consistent with vegetation on dunes along the Perth coastline and is not representative of any TECs or PECs. The four natural shrubland vegetation types are broadly consistent with vegetation association 3048 (Beard 1979) and the Quindalup Complex that is mapped along much of the Perth metropolitan area coast (Heddle et al. 1980). Vegetation association 3048 has less than 30% of its pre-European extent remaining at all scales and may be considered significant; whereas the Quindalup Complex has greater that 30% of its pre-European extent remaining on the Swan Coastal Plain, but less than 25% remaining in the City of Kwinana. Forty-nine plant species were recorded in the survey area, of which only 14 are naturally occurring. The vegetation is considered to be of low diversity. No flora listed under the EPBC Act, WC Act or as a Priority by DPaW were recorded or are considered likely to occur. Fauna Nine fauna species were recorded during the field survey. The shrubland and open dune vegetation types provide limited habitat for many fauna species. No conservation significant species were recorded during the survey. No species listed under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act or Wildlife Protection Act were considered likely to occur in the survey area. Three Department of Parks and Wildlife listed species (Perth Lined Skink, Black-lined Snake (Priority 3) and Quenda (Priority 5)) were considered likely to occur in the survey area, based on habitat preferences and known records. No conservation significant marine or wading species were considered likely to occur, due to the lack of suitable beach habitat, lack of known breeding records and relative disturbance on the beach by the horses and beach goers. GHD | Report for Water Corporation - Perth Desalination Plant Expansion, 61/35234 | i Table of contents 1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose of this assessment ................................................................................................. 1 1.3 Project location .................................................................................................................... 1 1.4 Scope ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.5 Relevant legislation, conservation codes and background information ............................... 2 2. Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Desktop assessment............................................................................................................ 3 2.2 Field survey .......................................................................................................................... 3 2.3 Limitations ............................................................................................................................ 6 3. Desktop assessment .................................................................................................................... 10 3.1 Regional biogeography ...................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Landform and soils ............................................................................................................. 10 3.3 DPaW managed lands ....................................................................................................... 10 3.4 Environmentally Sensitive Areas ....................................................................................... 10 3.5 Vegetation and flora ........................................................................................................... 10 3.6 Fauna ................................................................................................................................. 12 4. Field Survey ................................................................................................................................. 14 4.1 Watercourses and wetlands .............................................................................................. 14 4.2 Vegetation .......................................................................................................................... 14 4.3 Flora ................................................................................................................................... 19 4.4 Fauna ................................................................................................................................. 20 5. Key findings .................................................................................................................................. 24 5.1 Vegetation and Flora.......................................................................................................... 24 5.2 Fauna ................................................................................................................................. 24 6. References ................................................................................................................................... 25 ii | GHD | Report for Water Corporation - Perth Desalination Plant Expansion, 61/35234 Table index Table 1 Data collected during the flora and vegetation field survey ................................................. 4 Table 2 Field survey limitations......................................................................................................... 7 Table 3 Extents of vegetation associations mapped within the survey area .................................. 11 Table 4 Extents of Heddle et al. (1980) vegetation complexes mapped within the Swan Coastal Plain IBRA bioregion ............................................................................................ 11 Table 5 Extents of Heddle et al. (1980) vegetation complexes mapped within the City of Kwinana ............................................................................................................................. 12 Table 6 Vegetation types mapped within the survey area .............................................................. 15 Table 7 Extent of vegetation condition ratings within the survey area ........................................... 19 Table 8 Fauna Habitat Types.......................................................................................................... 21 Table 9 Summary of likelihood of occurrence for conservation significant fauna ........................... 23 Appendices Appendix A – Figures Appendix B – Relevant Legislation, conservation codes and background information Appendix C – Desktop searches Appendix D – Flora data Appendix E – Fauna data GHD | Report for Water Corporation - Perth Desalination Plant Expansion, 61/35234 | iii 1. Introduction 1.1 Background The Water Corporation requires a biological assessment of an area adjacent to the Perth Desalination Plant at Kwinana, south of Perth. GHD Pty Ltd (GHD) was commissioned to undertake the assessment of the survey area to define biological environmental values, including their location, conservation significance and management recommendations. 1.2 Purpose of this assessment The purpose of the assessment was to define the quality and extent of ecological values in the survey area. The information collected will enable the Water Corporation to consider the site’s environmental constraints and opportunities. 1.3 Project location The existing Perth Desalination Plant is approximately 29 km south of Perth, on the shore of Cockburn Sound. The survey area is 15.10 ha and is shown in Figure 1, Appendix A. For desktop searches a broader study area was applied, which includes a 5 km or 10 km buffer around the survey area. 1.4 Scope The scope of works was to undertake a single season flora, vegetation and fauna survey. The following actions were completed to fulfil the scope: Conduct a desktop assessment of relevant literature, databases and spatial datasets to determine environmental values and any potential environmental constraints Identify the Vegetation Complex mapping of the area and determine the pre-European extent remaining to assess the significance of the proposed native vegetation clearing Complete a field