This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 Approved Conservation Advice (s266B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) Approved Conservation Advice for Prasophyllum murfetii (Fleurieu Leek Orchid)
This Conservation Advice has been developed based on the best available information at the time this Conservation Advice was approved; this includes existing plans, records or management prescriptions for this species.
Description Prasophyllum murfetii, Family Orchidaceae, also known as Fleurieu Leek Orchid, is a terrestrial orchid with a single, erect dark-green cylindrical leaf. Flowers are sweetly scented and occur in dense to moderately dense spikes of 15–35 flowers and are greenish-brown to white, or pink (Jones, 2000). Prior to 2000, P. murfetii was included with the species P. frenchii (Jones, 2000).
Conservation Status Fleurieu Leek Orchid is listed as critically endangered. This species is eligible for listing as critically endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) (EPBC Act) as, in 2006, the Minister considered the Threatened Species Scientific Committee's (TSSC) advice under section 189 of the EPBC Act and amended the list under section 184 to include Fleurieu Leek Orchid. The TSSC determined that this species met Criteria 2, 3 and 4 of their eligibility criteria (TSSC, 2006b). The species is also listed as endangered under Schedule 7 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 (South Australia).
Distribution and Habitat Fleurieu Leek Orchid is endemic to South Australia and is known from two locations south of Adelaide on Fleurieu Peninsula: the Mount Compass area and the Parawa area. This species is found on swampy sites in low-lying areas around the margins of permanent water bodies and lakes (Bates & Weber, 1990). Suitable habitat has declined by 75 per cent as a result of agriculture altering swamps (TSSC, 2006b). Extent of occurrence of the species is 730 km2 and total area of occupancy of 15 ha. This species is found in 10–15 subpopulations with a total population count of 100–150 individuals. No population contains more than 10 individuals (TSSC, 2006b). Fleurieu Leek Orchid is found on brown to black wet loam, 0–300 m above sea level (Jones, 2000). Hot dry summers and cool wet winter characterise the region with rainfall varying from 850 mm at Mount Compass to 950 mm at Parawa. Associated vegetation communities include Leptospermum spp. heathland and Acacia retinodes-Leptospermum continentale heathland. Associated species include Juncus spp., sedge and rushes. This species occurs within the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges (South Australia) Natural Resource Management Region. The distribution of this species overlaps with the “Swamps of Fleurieu Peninsula” EPBC Act- listed threatened ecological community.
Threats The main identified threats to Fleurieu Leek Orchid are vegetation clearance increasing run- off velocity and erosion; drying of catchments by farm dams; plantation forestry reducing groundwater and run-off volume; livestock grazing, trampling vegetation and compacting soils; slashing and burning of swamps for agriculture; inappropriate fire regimes; and mining affecting aquifers (TSSC, 2006b). Prasophyllum murfetii Conservation Advice - Page 1 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 Research Priorities Research priorities that would inform future regional and local priority actions include: • Design and implement a monitoring program or, if appropriate, support and enhance existing programs (TSSC, 2006a). • More precisely assess ecological requirements and the relative impacts of threatening processes. • Undertake survey work in suitable habitat and potential habitat to locate any additional populations/occurrences/remnants. • Undertake seed germination and/or vegetative propagation trials to determine the requirements for successful establishment, including mycorrhizal association trials.
Regional and Local Priority Actions The following regional and local priority recovery and threat abatement actions can be done to support the recovery of Fleurieu Leek Orchid. Habitat Loss, Disturbance and Modification • Monitor known populations to identify key threats. • Monitor the progress of recovery, including the effectiveness of management actions and the need to adapt them if necessary. • Implement management plan for swamps on Fleurieu Peninsula (Duffield & Hill, 2002). • Identify populations of high conservation priority. • Ensure any changes to agricultural activities do not impact on known sites (TSSC, 2006a). • Ensure catchment management, agriculture activities and development, in areas where the Fleurieu Leek Orchid occurs, do not adversely impact on known populations. • Manage any changes to hydrology that may result in changes to the water table levels, increased run-off, sedimentation or pollution. • Manage any disruptions to water flows. • Investigate formal conservation arrangements such as the use of covenants, conservation agreements or inclusion in reserve tenure (TSSC, 2006a). Trampling, Browsing or Grazing • Ensure that livestock grazing, if it occurs in the area, uses an appropriate management regime and density that does not detrimentally affect this species. • Where appropriate manage total grazing pressure at important/significant sites through exclusion fencing or other barriers (TSSC, 2006a). Fire • Develop and implement a suitable fire management strategy for swamps on the Fleurieu Peninsula and Fleurieu Leek Orchid (Duffield & Hill, 2002). • As appropriate, provide maps of known occurrences to local and state rural fire services and seek inclusion of mitigative measures in bush fire risk management plans, risk register and/or operation maps. Conservation Information • Raise awareness of Fleurieu Leek Orchid within the local community, including among land managers and catchment authorities. Enable Recovery of Additional Sites and/or Populations • Undertake appropriate seed collection and storage. • Investigate options for linking, enhancing or establishing additional populations. • Implement national translocation protocols (Vallee et al., 2004) if establishing additional populations is considered necessary and feasible.
Prasophyllum murfetii Conservation Advice - Page 2 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 This list does not necessarily encompass all actions that may be of benefit to Fleurieu Leek Orchid, but highlights those that are considered to be of highest priority at the time of preparing the conservation advice.
Existing Plans/Management Prescriptions that are Relevant to the Species • Swamp Management Guidelines for the Fleurieu Peninsula (Duffield & Hill, 2002). This prescription was current at the time of publishing; please refer to the relevant agency’s website for any updated versions.
Information Sources: Bates, RJ & Weber, JZ 1990, Orchids of South Australia: Flora and Fauna of South Australia, Handbooks Committee, South Australia. Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia (DEH) 2005, Plant population database, extracted 31 May 2005. Duffield, R & Hill, B. 2002, Swamp Management Guidelines for the Fleurieu Peninsula, Conservation Council of South Australia, Adelaide. Jones, DL 2000, ‘Ten new species of Prasophyllum R.Br. (Orchidaceae) from South-eastern Australia’, The Orchadian, vol. 13, pp. 149-173. Threatened Species Scientific Committee (TSSC) 2006a, Commonwealth Conservation Advice on Prasophyllum murfetii, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage, and the Arts. Threatened Species Scientific Committee (TSSC) 2006b, Commonwealth Listing Advice on Prasophyllum murfetii, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage, and the Arts, viewed 14 April 2008,
Prasophyllum murfetii Conservation Advice - Page 3 of 3