Hunter River Estuary Riparian Revegetation Guide

Information in this leaflet will help landholders Steps to select the right plant species to use in river bank successful planting (or riparian) restoration in the Hunter River estuary – the part of the river influenced by the Step 1 tides. Find out in which zone your rehabilitation site is located using WHY RESTORE RIVER BANKS IN THE ESTUARY? the map on the back cover. Native vegetation plays a vital role in river bank stabilisation. The estuary’s river banks are impacted by tides, floods, wind, waves, as well as human and Step 2 animal activities. In their current state, river banks need active assistance and Use the plant species and bank management to maintain and improve their stability and resistance to erosion. Local native trees, shrubs and groundcovers are best suited to protect and location table on page 2 for your restore river banks: zone to determine the right species for your project and where to plant • tree roots help river banks resist erosion by holding soil in place them on the river bank. • over-hanging foliage regulates water temperature and provides shade for fish • fallen trees provide additional river bank protection and native fish habitat. Step 3 Erosion and deposition of sediment are natural river processes. However, rates Use information on page 3 to help of erosion in the Hunter estuary have been accelerated with the removal of plan and carry out your project. native vegetation, over-grazing and other pressures of development, leading to: • loss of productive land For further information and advice on • loss of habitat river bank restoration contact Hunter Local Land Services. • reduced water quality Ph: (02) 4930 1030 • degraded aquatic habitat for fish. Disturbance or destruction of river bank native vegetation and invasion of Email: [email protected] weeds have severely limited the ability of river banks to repair themselves through natural regeneration of vegetation between flood events.

HOW TO RESTORE RIVER BANKS IN THE ESTUARY?

A healthy river and estuary relies on good riparian land management throughout the river valley or catchment. Recommended management practices include: • removing stock access to waterways ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • providing off-stream water and shade for stock Concept for this fact sheet was based on • restoring riverbanks with native vegetation. the Bellinger River Estuary Revegetation This leaflet provides a landholders a guide for putting the right plant in the Guide initiated by Bellinger Landcare Inc. right place to restore healthy riparian vegetation which will protect and Local botanical expert advice was provided enhance our estuarine waterways. by Noel Jupp and Dr Stephen Bell.

1 SPECIES BY LOCATION ON RIVER BANK

Select from the short-list of species from the table below:

If levee present contact LLS staff for advice on planting proximity.

ESTUARY MID to HIGH TIDE TOE MIDDLE UPPER

No need to plant the Swamp rush *Spiny-headed mat rush Sydney golden wattle species listed below Juncus kraussii Lomandra longifolia Acacia longifolia - these will naturally Spiny-headed mat rush River lily Bleeding heart establish in inter-tidal Lomandra longifolia *Crinum pedunculatum Omalanthus nutans zones of the lower River lily Swamp oak Whalebone tree estuary, given suitable Crinum pedunculatum Casuarina glauca Streblus brunonianus conditions Tall spike rush Broad-leaved paperbark Tuckeroo Eleocharis sphacelata Melaleuca quinquenervia Cupaniopsis anarcardioides Grey mangrove Club rush *Prickly-leaved paperbark Coffee bush Avicennia marina Schoenoplectus subulatus Melaleuca styphelioides Breynia oblongifolia River mangrove *Narrow-leaved paperbark Forest red gum Aegiceras corniculatum Melaleuca linariifolia Eucalyptus tereticornis Streaked arrow grass Swamp paperbark Wild quince Triglochin striatum Melaleuca ericifolia Alectryon subcinereus *Pink tip bottlebrush Rosewood

ZONE A Glasswort Sarcocornia quinqueflora Callistemon salignus Dysoxylum fraserianum Seablite Swamp mahogany Hard quandong Suaeda australis Eucalyptus robusta Elaeocarpus obovatus

Hunter River (from Newcastle to Raymond Terrace) Hunter River (from Sea rush Muttonwood Juncus krausii Myrsine variabilis Rusty-leaved fig Ficus rubignosa Yellow pittosporum Pittosporum revolutum Lilly pilly Brackish reaches: Syzygium smithii

ALL SPECIES ABOVE PLUS: ALL SPECIES ABOVE *SPECIES ABOVE PLUS: ALL SPECIES ABOVE PLUS: Common reed PLUS: Brush kurrajong River oak Phragmites australis Common rush Commersonia fraseri Casuarina cunninghamii Common rush Juncus usitatus Wild quince Cabbage gum Juncus usitatus Jointed twig rush Alectryon subcinereus Eucalyptus amplifolia Tall sedge Baumea articulata Rough-barked apple River red gum Carex appressa Club rush Angophora floribunda Eucalyptus camaldulensis Tall spike rush Schoenoplectus validus Kurrajong Flooded gum Eleocharis sphacelata ∆ Snake vine Brachychiton populneus Eucalyptus grandis Hibbertia scandens Native rosella Cheese tree Hibiscus heterophyllus Glochidion ferdinandii △∆ Red seed saw sedge Black wattle Gahnia sieberiana Acacia melanoxylon ZONE B Creek sandpaper fig Ficus coronata

Williams River, Paterson River and Hunter Paterson River and Hunter Williams River, Native peach ∆ Ground cover / grass may not be Trema tomentosa suitable in dense vegetation, can be ∆ Wallaby grass River upstream from Raymond Terrace from River upstream added later Austrodanthonia fulva ∆ Paroo lily Dianella caerulea

Fresher reaches: ∆ Tall saw sedge Gahnia clarkei

2 HOW TO PLANT YOUR SITE 4. Arrange to collect or have plants 7. Plant, water in and protect from delivered as close as possible to your herbivores, wind, and extreme 1. Use your chosen species from the planting day(s). Store nursery plants elements using tree guards and table on page 2, including a mixture in a protected area and water twice stakes. See planting methods below of ground covers, shrub and tree daily. 8. Maintain planting: water weekly canopy species. 5. Remove livestock from planting site for the first month then as needed, 2. Design the site and work out plant and fence if required, allowing access depending on weather; reduce numbers and spacing as outlined for maintenance. competition by regular weeding and/ below. 6. Prepare the site by slashing, weeding, or mulching, checking every month. 3. Place your order with local nurseries applying herbicide (contact LLS staff 9. Retrieve all plastic tree guards when in spring/summer for autumn and for advice – allow two weeks after plants are waist high. winter planting. herbicide treatment before planting) and/or mulching.

PLANTING SPACING AND DESIGN

2m 2m

2m 1m 2m 1m

1m 1m

Mangroves & Trees: saltmarsh: Rushes & sedges: Dense plantings provide greater protection from sun, Exclude livestock and other Lomandra, Juncus, Schoenoplectus, wind and cold, help shade out weeds and rapidly damaging influences from Eleocharis and Crinum species form reinforce river bank soils. On middle and upper bank river bank and allow inter-tidal clumps and their matted roots and plant trees 1-2m apart in a random zig-zag pattern. vegetation to naturally establish stems help anchor soils on the ‘toe’ or Distribute fast growing species throughout the planting, in suitable areas within brackish river edge. Plant densely among tree including Eucalypts, Wattles and Casuarinas. Plant trees areas of the lower estuary. seedlings at 0.5-1m centres. and shrubs alternately to achieve a mix of species.

PLANTING METHODS

Most native tree seedlings are sold in trays Tree guards used on the upper river of 40 tubes or hikos. These small pots are bank protect from wind, sun, frost, and designed to be an optimal size for field browsing herbivores (hares, wallabies, planting considering weight, price, speed kangaroos), and can be biodegradable of plant growth and development of roots. cardboard (better near creeks and rivers) or Using a mattock, spade or auger, dig a hole reusable plastic ‘sleeves’. All guards must just big enough to comfortably fit the root be staked straight and tight to prevent ball of the plant. Gently remove the plant them from collapsing, leaning on tree from the plastic tube and place the plant in seedlings or blowing away. Mulch from an the hole. Make sure that all of the roots are approved supplier may be applied (across beneath the surface of the ground. Back fill whole site or in rings around plants) to the hole with topsoil and press down firmly reduce grass growth and preserve soil around the plant. Build a water basin around moisture but must not be heaped against the outside of the planted tree, especially if the stem of the seedling as this can rot the planting on a slope or in fast draining soils. bark. Retrieve plastic guards when plant is Form a water basin around plants to catch Give the tree plenty of water. about waist high. and retain water.

3 Map of Hunter River Estuary

References for further details https://kooragangwetlands.com/library/ Peake, T (2003) Hunter bushland resource kit: a guide to managing vegetation on State of New South Wales through Local Land Services 2017. The private land in the Hunter catchment. Hunter Catchment Management Trust, Tocal NSW. information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and Schneider, G (2007) Where land meets water resource kit: a guide to riparian understanding at the time of writing June 2017. However, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that the management in the Hunter Valley. Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management information upon which they rely is up to date and to check the currency Authority, Tocal NSW. of the information with the appropriate officer of Local Land Services or the user’s independent adviser. For updates go to www.lls.nsw.gov.au

1300 795 299 www.hunter.lls.nsw.gov.au