This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 3/7/2008 Approved Conservation Advice (s266B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) Approved Conservation Advice for Zieria tuberculata (Warty Zieria)
This Conservation Advice has been developed based on the best available information at the time this conservation advice was approved.
Description
Zieria tuberculata, Family Rutaceae, also known as the Warty Zieria, is a rounded, open to moderately dense shrub growing to 3.5 m high. Its branches and leaves are warty, and covered in star-shaped hairs. The leaves are dull green above and whitish below, have a petiole about 4-8 mm long, and are comprised of three narrow leaflets. The central leaflet is about 31-43 mm long and 2-3 mm wide. The inflorescences are located in the leaf axils and contain 59- 195 creamy-white flowers each 5.2-7.3 mm in diameter and with a stalk 1.1-2.5 mm long. The flowers are known to be pollinated by pollen-feeding beetles and flies and nectar-seeking flies (Armstrong, 2002).
Conservation Status Warty Zieria is listed as vulnerable. This species is eligible for listing as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) (EPBC Act) as, prior to the commencement of the EPBC Act, it was listed as vulnerable under Schedule 1 to the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 (Cwlth). Warty Zieria is also listed as vulnerable under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW).
Distribution and Habitat Warty Zieria is restricted to exposed, rocky outcrops in shrub communities fringed by temperate rainforest or eucalypt open forest. It occasionally extends into the understorey of eucalypt open forest (Armstrong, 2002). The species has a very small geographic range of approximately 6 km2. Eight populations with 900 individuals are known from Little Dromedary Mountain and Mount Dromedary on the NSW south coast (Armstrong, 2002). Two of these populations occur in Gulaga National Park. This species occurs only within the Southern Rivers (NSW) Natural Resource Management Region. The distribution of this species is not known to overlap with any EPBC Act-listed threatened ecological communities.
Threats The main identified threats to Warty Zieria include weed encroachment from Lantana (Lantana camara) and Ivy (Hedera helix) and trampling, grazing and habitat destruction by stock on private properties (Armstrong, 2002).
Research Priorities Research priorities that would inform future regional and local priority actions include: • Design and implement a monitoring program. • More precisely assess population size, distribution, 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. Zieria tuberculata Conservation Advice - Page 1 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 3/7/2008 Regional and Local Priority Actions The following priority recovery and threat abatement actions can be done to support the recovery of Warty Zieria. 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. • Minimise adverse impacts from land use at known sites. • Identify populations of high conservation priority. • Manage threats to areas of vegetation that contain populations/occurrences/remnants of Warty Zieria. • Investigate formal conservation arrangements such as the use of covenants, conservation agreements or inclusion in reserve tenure. Invasive Weeds • Develop and implement a management plan for the control of Lantana (Lantana camara) and Ivy (Hedera helix) in the local region. • Identify and remove weeds in the local area, which could become a threat to Warty Zeria, using appropriate methods. • Manage sites to prevent introduction of invasive weeds, which could become a threat to Warty Zeria, using appropriate methods. • Ensure chemicals or other mechanisms used to eradicate weeds do not have a significant adverse impact on Warty Ziera. Trampling, Browsing or Grazing • Develop and implement a stock management plan for roadside verges and travelling stock routes. • Prevent grazing pressure at known sites on private property and leased crown land through exclusion fencing or other barriers. Conservation Information • Raise awareness of Warty Zieria within the local community, particularly among landholders with the species on their properties. Enable Recovery of Additional Sites and/or Populations. • Undertake appropriate seed collection and storage. • Investigate options for linking, enhancing or establishing additional populations. • Maintain ex-situ collections, currently in cultivation at the Australian National Botanic Gardens and the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry (Australian Capital Territory) (CHABG, 1994). • Implement national translocation protocols (Vallee et al., 2004) if establishing additional populations is considered necessary and feasible.
This list does not necessarily encompass all actions that may be of benefit to Warty Zieria, 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 • New South Wales Threatened Species Priority Action Statement- Warty Zieria - Priority actions (DEC, 2005). This prescription was current at the time of publishing; please refer to the relevant agency’s website for any updated versions. Zieria tuberculata Conservation Advice - Page 2 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 3/7/2008
Information Sources: Armstrong, JA 2002, ‘Zieria (Rutaceae): a systematic and evolutionary study’, Australian Systematic Botany, vol. 15, pp. 277-463. Council of Heads of Australian Botanic Gardens (CHABG) 1994, Census of plants in botanic gardens, Australian National Botanic Gardens, viewed 11 April 2008,
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