EIS 1813 Flora and Fauna of the Coonamble-Walgett District
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EIS 1813 Flora and fauna of the Coonamble-Walgett district ARI AIRS JJI Ii O6 88 LAND & WATER CONS LRVAI ION FLORA AND FAUNA OF THE COONAMBLE I WALGETT DISTRICT 4 NJ A - tol Department of Land and Water Conservation FLORA AND FAUNA OF THE COONAMBLE / WALGETT DISTRICT November 2001 DARREN SHELLY, ECOLOGIST, DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION, RESOURCE ANALYSIS UNIT, CENTRAL-WEST REGION. DUBBO. Crown © 2001 Department of Land and Water Conservation This book is copyright. Parts may be reproduced for purposes of study and / or research provided acknowledgment of the source is clearly made. Inquiries should be addressed to be Department of Land and Water Conservation. This document should be cited as: Shelly, D., 2001. Flora and Fauna of the Coonamble / Walgett District. Department of Land and Water Conservation, Dubbo. ISBN 0 7347 51974 FOREWORD The semi-arid zone of New South Wales is a large area, where changes in vegetation and fauna communities can be gradual compared to the forested slopes and coast, which receive high rainfall. The semi-arid zone is being impacted on by continuing expansion of agricultural development but there is a recognised lack of even basic information with regards to existing biodiversity that would allow for planned development with minimal environmental impact. It is only recently that semi-arid NSW is getting the recognition it deserves via funding for environmental inventories. Throughout the state there is a general recognition that the maintenance of biodiversity must not rely on the conservation reserve system alone but needs to incorporate areas outside nature reserves (Hale and Lamb 1997). Research and knowledge are needed to show that conservation and primary production are not mutually exclusive, and that a sensible combination of the two can lead to ecologically sustainable land management. Surveys such as this are needed to provide the baseline information from which management decisions can be made. Darren Shelly, Ecologist - Central West Region (DLWC). 11 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks to the families of the six properties that kindly provided sites for survey, assistance and accommodation (participating landholders preferred to remain anonymous). Department of Land and Water Conservation officers who assisted in fieldwork were Christine Duncan, Sarah Munro and Sonia Bazzacco (Vegetation Management Officers - Dubbo). Robert Baun kindly volunteered his time to assist in fieldwork on two surveys. Information was provided and drafts edited by Steven Lewer (Botanist, Centre for Natural Resources Vegetation Mapping - Dubbo), Robert Gibson (Vegetation Mapping Ecologist, Centre for Natural Resources - Dubbo), Bill Semple (Vegetation Ecologist - Orange) and Terry Mazzer (Regional Ecologist, Far West - Dubbo). External review was conducted by Murray Ellis (Zoologist) and Carl Gosper (Fauna Survey Project Officer) of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Western Directorate - Dubbo Nicole Payne (Vegetation Planning Officer - Dubbo) formatted the document. Finally, the degree of effort and subsequent findings in each survey period could not have been accomplished without the assistance of Cohn Shelly. lii SUMMARY Data on flora and fauna species were collated at a district scale for use in the Lower Macquarie - Castlereagh and the Walgett Regional Vegetation Management Plans. The Coonamble / Walgett district covers the land encompassed within both 1:100 000 scale topographic mapsheets and has an area of 522,500 hectares. Six properties were surveyed within the district. Within each property the survey effort was directed at vertebrate fauna within the maj or vegetation communities / alliances present. The overall aim was to survey the vegetation types most representative of the Coonamble / Walgett district from which landholders can then determine what wildlife they may have present on their own properties. The vegetation communities surveyed were Open grassland - isolated trees. Poplar Box open woodland / woodland Poplar Box / White Cypress Pine woodland Poplar Box / Wilga woodland Black Box woodland Baradine Gum / White Cypress Pine woodland Coolibah open woodland / woodland Fauna surveys were carried out between November 2000 and March 2001, as warmer months are when animal movement (especially reptiles) is optimal. The more fauna I that move around in an area the higher the probability of detection. Due to time and financial constraints the surveys were not spaced in an attempt to get seasonal variation in vegetation growth and flowering as well as nomadic / migratory fauna movements. I Flora species lists for each vegetation type were compiled by merging lists from properties within the district in addition to limited surveys during each fauna survey I period. Habitat information at each fauna survey site was also collected. Survey results recorded 298 flora species [27 tree / understorey, 18 shrubs, 190 non- grass groundcover, 54 grasses, 9 mistletoe / vines]. Flora species diversity was highest I in Coolibah open woodland / woodlands (159 species) and lowest in the Poplar Box / Wilga vegetation type (54 species). More comprehensive flora surveys are expected to I significantly increase the number of species found within each vegetation type. A total of 193 fauna species were recorded during the surveys [15 amphibians, 31 reptiles, 28 mammals, 119 birds]. Further species were added from database searches and landholder observations. Vertebrate fauna species diversity was highest in the Coolibah woodlands (115 species) and lowest in the Open Grassland - isolated trees (66 species). Nine species that are listed in the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 were recorded during the surveys. One of the detected threatened species, the Bush Stone- curlew (Burhinus grallarius) is considered "endangered". "Vulnerable" species recorded were: Superb Parrot (Polytelis swainsonii), Glossy Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami), Australasian Bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus), Brolga (Grus rubicundus), Barking Owl (Ninox connivens), Little Pied Bat (Chalinolobuspicatus), Yellow-bellied Sheath-tail Bat (Saccolaimusfiaviventris) and Inland Forest Bat (Vespadelus baverstocki). I!4 Detailed information on each of the above species is presented in Threatened Species Profiles in Chapter Four. Three additional species recorded in these surveys have received preliminary determinations supporting their listing as vulnerable species in the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. They are the Brown Treecreeper - eastern subspecies (Climacteruspicumnus victoriae), Hooded Robin - south-eastern form (Melanodryas cucullata cucullata) and the Grey-crowned Babbler - eastern subspecies (Pomatostomus temporalis temporalis). Based on the findings of the surveys, examples of habitat management issues that should be considered by landholders in the Coonamble / Walgett district, and elsewhere on similar country, are given below. Retention of hollow-bearing dead trees. Retention of hollow-bearing live trees, plus allowance for recruitment. Location of areas of retained native vegetation. The importance of vegetation around dams to wildlife. The importance of vertical tree stumps and bark-shedding trees as reptile habitat. Permanent and ephemeral wetlands and watercourses as high priority habitats for retention. All vegetation structural elements need to be considered as habitat. Pest animal control is vital to maintain biodiversity. In any area (either on an individual property, within a landcare group or in a district) there is a need for a balance between native vegetation and agricultural development / landuse. Information provided by the surveys can be incorporated into the planning and knowledge required to have ecologically sustainable development in the district. VA TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY .IV CHAPTER1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 11 Background to survey site selection 1.2 Location of the Coonamble / Walgett District 1.3 Other Fauna Surveys in Western New South Wales CHAPTER 2: THE COONAMBLE I WALGETT DISTRICT ENVIRONMENT.................................4 2.1 Topography 2.2 Bioregions - provinces 2.3 Climate 2.3.1 - Rainfall 2.3.2 - Temperature CHAPTER 3: SURVEYS IN WESTERN NEW SOUTH WALES........................................................... 7 3.1 \Vhy conduct these surveys? 7 ' 3.2 What we surveyed 8 3.3 When we surveyed 8 3.4 How we surveyed 9 3.5 The Survey Results 10 I 3.5.1-Flora 10 3.5.2-Fauna 11 3.5.3 - Comparison of Coonamble I Walgett survey results to other surveys in western New South Wales 11 I 3.6 Some additional survey results 12 3.7 Threatened species and species of conservation concern 13 3.8 Species at or near the edges of their known distribution 14 3.9 Records of recognised 'decliner' bird species within the wheat-sheep belt of New South Wales 15 CHAPTER 4: VEGETATION AND FAUNA UN THE COONAMBLE I WALGETT DISTRICT.....17 4.1 Biodiversity of Open Grassland - isolated trees 18 4.1.1 Vegetation 20 4.1.2 Vertebrate Fauna 24 4.1.3 Threatened species profile 27 4.2 Biodiversity of the Poplar Box open woodland / woodlands 29 4.2.1 Vegetation 30 4.2.2 Vertebrate Fauna 34 4.2.3 Threatened species profile 37 4.3 Biodiversity of the Poplar Box / White Cypress Pine woodland 39 4.3.1 Vegetation 40 4.3.2 Vertebrate Fauna 43 4.3.3 Threatened species profile 46 4.4 Biodiversity of the Poplar Box / Wilga woodlands 48 4.4.1 Vegetation 49 4.4.2 Vertebrate Fauna 51 4.4.3 Threatened species profile