SURVEY of VEGETATION and HABITAT in KEY RIPARIAN ZONES of TRIBUTARIES of the MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER in the ACT: Naas, Gudgenby, Paddys, Cotter and Molonglo Rivers
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SURVEY OF VEGETATION AND HABITAT IN KEY RIPARIAN ZONES OF TRIBUTARIES OF THE MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER IN THE ACT: Naas, Gudgenby, Paddys, Cotter and Molonglo Rivers Lesley Peden, Stephen Skinner, Luke Johnston, Kevin Frawley, Felicity Grant and Lisa Evans Technical Report 23 November 2011 Conservation Planning and Research | Policy Division | Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate TECHNICAL REPORT 23 Survey of Vegetation and Habitat in Key Riparian Zones of Tributaries of the Murrumbidgee River in the ACT: Naas, Gudgenby, Paddys, Cotter and Molonglo Rivers Lesley Peden, Stephen Skinner, Luke Johnston, Kevin Frawley, Felicity Grant and Lisa Evans Conservation, Planning and Research Policy Division Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate GPO Box 158, CANBERRA ACT 2601 i Front cover: The Murrumbidgee River and environs near Tharwa Sandwash recreation area, Tharwa, ACT. Photographs: Luke Johnston, Lesley Peden and Mark Jekabsons. ISBN: 978‐0‐9806848‐7‐2 © Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate, Canberra, 2011 Information contained in this publication may be copied or reproduced for study, research, information or educational purposes, subject to appropriate referencing of the source. This document should be cited as: Peden, L., Skinner, S., Johnston, L., Frawley, K., Grant, F., and Evans, L. 2011. Survey of Vegetation and Habitat in Key Riparian Zones in Tributaries of the Murrumbidgee River in the ACT: Cotter, Molonglo, Gudgenby, Naas and Paddys Rivers. Technical Report 23. Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate, Canberra. Published by Conservation Planning and Research, Policy Division, Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate. http://www.environment.act.gov.au | Telephone: Canberra Connect 132 281 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This document was prepared with funding provided by the Australian Government National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. Additional financial and in‐kind support was provided for the project by the Australian Capital Territory Department of Territory and Municipal Services (TAMS). Many thanks are due to those who provided additional information and support including TAMS staff (Parks, Conservation and Lands (PCL)) at Namadgi National Park, Stromlo, Kowen Forest, Murrumbidgee River Corridor, and in the Conservation Planning and Research section. Thanks also go to those rural lessees adjoining the Naas, Paddys and Gudgenby rivers in the ACT, who facilitated access. Plant identifications were undertaken by PCL staff with confirmations provided by Isobel Crawford at the Australian National Herbarium, Black Mountain. ESDD staff that directly contributed to the planning, implementation, outputs and review of the project include: Lesley Peden, Stephen Skinner, Luke Johnston, Matt Beitzel, Felicity Grant, Mark Jekabsons, Diwani Velasquez, Lisa Evans and Sharon Lane. Kevin Frawley revised and edited a draft of the document. General Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views, opinions or policy of funding bodies or participating member agencies or organisations. iii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ iv List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... vii List of Appendices ................................................................................................................ x Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ xi 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background to this Report .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 The Murrumbidgee River and its Tributaries ..................................................................... 2 1.3 Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Riparian Vegetation Communities ...................................................................................... 3 1.5 Condition Assessment ........................................................................................................ 3 1.6 Report Structure and Project Results ................................................................................. 3 2 METHODS ..................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Mapping and Survey Techniques ........................................................................................ 4 2.1.1 Aerial photography and satellite imagery ...................................................................... 4 2.1.2 Polygon identification and assessment .......................................................................... 4 2.1.3 Calculation of condition scores ...................................................................................... 5 2.1.4 On‐ground survey to support aerial photograph interpretation ................................... 5 2.1.5 Map production.............................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Vegetation Communities .................................................................................................... 5 2.3 Plant Identification ............................................................................................................. 7 2.4 Advantages, Constraints and Limitations of the Methods ................................................. 7 2.4.1 Remote sensing and desk top mapping ......................................................................... 8 2.4.2 Image resolution ............................................................................................................ 8 3 NAAS RIVER .................................................................................................................................. 9 3.1 Topography ......................................................................................................................... 9 3.2 Background ......................................................................................................................... 9 3.3 Naas River: Survey Results by River Section ....................................................................... 9 3.3.1 Upper Naas Creek to Namadgi National Park boundary ................................................ 9 3.3.2 Namadgi National Park boundary to Caloola Farm ......................................................14 3.3.3 Caloola Farm to confluence with Gudgenby River .......................................................16 3.4 Naas River: Condition and Management Recommendations ..........................................17 3.4.1 Upper Naas Creek to Namadgi National Park boundary ..............................................17 3.4.2 Namadgi National Park boundary to Caloola Farm ......................................................18 3.4.3 Caloola Farm to confluence with Gudgenby River .......................................................18 iv 4 GUDGENBY RIVER ...................................................................................................................... 19 4.1 Topography ....................................................................................................................... 19 4.2 Background ....................................................................................................................... 19 4.3 Gudgenby River: Survey Results by River Section ............................................................ 19 4.3.1 Confluence of Bogong and Middle creeks to Boboyan Road ....................................... 19 4.3.2 Boboyan Road to Glendale Crossing ............................................................................ 23 4.3.3 Glendale Crossing to Fitzs Hill ...................................................................................... 24 4.3.4 Fitzs Hill to confluence with the Naas River ................................................................. 25 4.3.5 Naas River confluence to the Murrumbidgee River ..................................................... 29 4.4 Gudgenby River: Condition and Management Recommendations .................................. 30 4.4.1 Confluence of Bogong and Middle creeks to Boboyan Road ....................................... 30 4.4.2 Boboyan Road to Glendale Crossing ............................................................................ 31 4.4.3 Glendale Crossing to Fitzs Hill ...................................................................................... 31 4.4.4 Fitzs Hill to confluence with the Naas River ................................................................. 32 4.4.5 Naas River confluence to the Murrumbidgee River ..................................................... 32 5 PADDYS RIVER ........................................................................................................................... 33 5.1 Topography ......................................................................................................................