A FLORASURVEY OF THE PROPOSED BEACONSFIELDREFUSE SITE

Phil Barker

March1992

TECHNICALREPORT 19921 1

QUEENVICTORIA MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY LAUNCESTON 1

Summaryand Recommendations Onehundred and nine species were recorded ftom 74 genera in 42 families. The vegetationwas found to be essentiallyhomogeneous shrubby Eucalyptus amygdalina woodlandand openforesl, except lor smallareas of lreelessheaths and verylocalized wet scrub.The shrubs are those species typical ol lownutrient sites, being essentially heaths. Degradationof the ecosysystemby evidentrepeated fires has probablyresulted in the increasedrepresentation o{sedges and bracken {ern throughout the area. Largeareas degraded by gravelremoval appear to be recoveringvery slowly,as may be exoectedon a lownutrient site. All oi the communitiesdescribed are considered to be wellreserved within the statessecure conservationreserves. Twospecies of conservalionsignificance were recorded. Brunoniaaustralis is recordedas unreservedand vulnerable (Kirkpatrick et a/. 1990),however, thespecies may be morewidespread than previously thought (F. Duncan, pers. comm.) Xanthorrhoeabracteata is recordedin Kirkpatrickel a/.(1990) as occurringin lessthan 20 10 X 10km mappinggrids, and as suchis consideredrare. The type specimen was recorded at Port Dalrympleand the speciesis found in heathsin northand easternTasmania, notably WaterhouseProtected Area. This areais not consideredas securetenure for conservation purposes.The speciesextends south to Hobartbut is of limitedabundance. Most quadrats containingthe speciesin thissurvey occur in the 500m bu{feralong the western edge in the Eucalyptusobliqualoresl but also at site23 in thesouth-east of thesurveyed area. Statewide, all remnantvegetation has conservation value. In the caseof somevegetation typesthat are notconsidered to be economicallyproductive they are often targeted for use as relusetips, or attemptsare made to transJormthem into more productive land by draining, filling or fertilizing.These types of vegetationare usuallyswampy or heathyand are similarto the vegetationin the presentstudy. However, as thissite has been chosen by a selectionprocess ultimatelyexcluding several others, and is quiteseverely degraded, it is notconsidered to be of highconservation value and as such is appropriatefor a relusesite. lt is recommended, however,thal the moorlandsites in the northare protected from regular intentional burning and thatground water quality is maintainedto avoidbolh direct toxic elfects on thevegetation and indirecttoxic effects due to nutrificationol the qround water from refuse leachates. 2

Inlroduction

It.isproposed that the. Beaconsfleld council will apply to theSlate Government for tenure of parl of a gravel r.eservebetween Town Road, wesi Arm Road and lhe Tamar Highwayriear Beaqonsfield(figure 1). Thecouncil intends to usea siteof 65 hawithin this reservdas a'refuse tlp. lhe sitewas surveyed for its botanical and conservation values lo ascertainwhether or not anysuch values clashed with the proposed use of thesile. Thegeology of thestudy site has been delermined by the Beaconsfieldcouncil's geologist (J. Farrellpers. coj.nm.). In generallerms, it is predominantlyTertiary partially cbnsoiidateO conglomerate.There are limited areas of Quaternaryalluvial deposits in iowlying areas and a smallarea of Permianmudstone and pebbly siltstone-in lhe northleastof thestuov area. Theclimate is warmhumid (Genlilli .1972).

Methods

The vegetation,in the area was sampledalong walkinglransects across lhe site al approximately200 m intervals.Species were recorded lrom a quadratof approximately400 mz every,200m alongeach transect. Additio-nal quadrals were sampled where iommunitlchanges wouldotherwise have been missed. All additionalspecies noiiced along the trans'ectsw-ere recorded.

Thequadrat data were cJassifled by referenceto exislingcommunity classif ications, in this case Duncanand Brown (1985) and Jarman etal. (1988).

Figure2. A contourmap of the proposed65 ha quadrats. tipsite,and the distributionof the survey . 200m

Keyto vegetatlonmap. SclerophylI foresUwood land ShrubbyEucalyptus amygdalina dry sclerophyllforesVwoodland ffi ShrubbyEucalyptus obliqua dry sclerophyllforest ffi SedgeyEucalyptus obliqua damp forest m Moorland/heath

l-D:t EasternWootly Tea-Tree r=1 Lowlandeastern sedgey ffi

Melaleucasquarrosa tall heath rl:-l Gravelpits t:] Figure3. A vegetationmap of the 65 ha tip site. CommunitydescriPtions 1. Shrubby/sedgey Eucatyptus amygdatina open forest and woodtand Thiscommunity -in" covers the largesl -ro" area of anycommunity in the study.area- There is variation *liriin lori-1munitydue di{ferencesin drainageattributable to slope position' The dif{erencesdo notwarrant separate classification. ln ihe main,the community is dominated by OccasionallyEuc.alyPtus. E;;;iy;tut-ir/_gaqi1i, .*iti' nttocasuarinalittoralis subdominant. obt6iA and or i5. viminalisare co-dominantwhere drainage has enriched the nutrientstatus of lowerslope positions. Smalltrees include sparse Exocarpus cupressiformis and morecommonly Banksia marginata. Snrub soecies includesparsety lcatter6d Leucopogonaustralis 9nd Leptomeriadrupacea Oominatihosmaller shrutjs suih as Leucopogoncollinus, L. ericoides,Lpacrs tmpressa' "a;iiiiiii"""ii"i,i iiniiiia ripariaand XAnthosia pitosa. Le-sscommon..species include Ampereaxiphoctada, Lomatia tinctoria, Persoonia iuniperina and Ptmeleanumttts. On the driersites the prostratespecres are.more frequent and cover greater than 20'k ol lhe oround area. The drostratesbecies include Astrbloma humifusum, Acrotriche serrulata, ilnOiytii iirpyttifoi1aZiA etatylobiunobtusang.ulum. On mid slopeand lowerslope positions in"-i.ilf sfiiubs are mor;'important. Heibs are rare with only Goodenialanata a d Gonocarpushumills occuring with any regularity. Le}idosoermaconcavum is the mostabundant taxon but is lowerthan the .predominantshrub h-;io[i-blh.aronocots areconspicuous throughout the community. Other lhan . ,n6n'eniinartl-disiichopitylta, is ubiquitous,the distribution o{ othergenera.is parcny. Dianel/aspp.' Gahniaraduta' Lomandratongifotia-and Xaithorrhea spp. are each importantin differentparts of thelandscape. Theeffects ol frequentburning may be evidentin a numberof featuresof thevegetation' The rarifvo{ herbsin tnrscommunlty m'ay be suchan indication.Pteridium esculentu.m, a species ;?i;i 6;;;r;; ov orining,is abundantin some areas and shrub diversity declines in association withit. In other'areas,tie eucalyptcanopy diminishes to an emergentwoodland cover over a to* riO-Oensecouer oi eioiasudiina titto'ratis.This species is alsofavoured by repeatedfires.

2. ShrubbyEucalyptus obliquaopen forest This is the second-gieitermost extensive community -overin the studyarea. _ lt differslrom the lirst doesnol cJr*rnii/in abundance_ofE. obliqua E. amygdalina.]!1s,991munity haveas manylrostrateshrubs. The position. of thecommunity seems to indlcatea prelerence io1itightty eiriched areas due lo caienainfluences, and the communityalso occurs on the sillsloieqravels in lhe westof thestudy area. The siltstone gravels are also likely to be richer thanthe duartz qravels. Much of thiscommunity has been recenlly burnt but resproUlng planls init werej reco"rdedindicated a similar smdll shrub flora to lhe E. amygdalinalorest Xanthorrhoeabracteatawas conspicuous along the low ridges.

3. Eucalyptusobl,qua damP forest ln occasionaland limited areas of restricteddrainage, narrow ecotones support Gah nia grandis, Notetaealigustrina, Melateica ericifolia, Leptolpermum scoparium,, Acacia melanoxylon' Blechnum"wattsii and Lepidospermaelatius. These areas may also be dominatedby Eiia,iyptusoOiiqua and E.'viniiatls but are generallytoo smallto escapethe influenceof the su"o,i,{OingshrinUy e. obliquacommunity. in someareas -Leptospermum scopariun forms a scrubwiih large tussocks'ol Gahnia bui in othersthe cover-is open and the groundlayer is dominatedby the sedges 5

Moorland 4. EasternWoolly Tea-Tree heath (Jarman et a/.19BB) This communityis very reslricledin lhe studyarea (Figure3). The communityoccupies depressionsin the landscapewhere ground water is nearor at the surfaceduring late winter andspring (J. Farrell, pers. comm.). Leptospermum lanigerum is thedominant species at upto 2 m tall allhoughHakea teretifolia and Melaleucasquarrosa are less frequentco-dominanls. The shrubsEpacris lanuginosa and Sprengeliaincarnata are distributedin limitedgaps in betweenlow tussocksol Gymnoschoenussphaerocephalus which have a crown diameter greaterthan 1 m. Other monocotsinclude Leptocarpus tenax, Empodisma minus, Restio complanatus,Patersonia fragilis and Gahniagrandis. Gleicheniadicarpa is commonbetween lhe tussocksoI Gymnoschoenussphaerocephalus. 5. Lowlandeastern sedgey moorland (Jarman et a/.19BB) Thiscommunity surrounds the woolly lea-tree community as an ecotoneto the drysclerophyll Jorest. Eucalyptusamygdalina is a sparse dominantand may be adventivelrom the surroundingcommunity. Hakeateretifolia and Banksiamarginata are more regularin an emergentshrub layer. Lepidospermafiliforme and L. concavumare abundanlin the same stratumas Leptocarpustenax, Xyris operculata,Empodisma minus, Restio complanatusand Schoenustenuissirius which are pres'entin roughlyequal proportions.The lris Patersonia fragilis,and the Iily, Thelionemacaespitosum are moresparsely scattered. Pultenaea stricta, Hibbeftiaripaia andEpacris lanuginosa are the mostcommon small shrubs. Otherswhich are sparselyscaltered throughoul are Acacia myrtifolia,Epacris impressa, Dillwynia glabberima, D. sericeaand Stypheliaadscendens. The lesssclerophyllous species Xanthosia pusilla, Aotus ericoides,Pimelea linifolia and Boroniaparviflora are also oresent. Xanthorrheaaustrals is oresentbut rare. Gleicheniadicarpa, Lindsaea linearis and Selaginella uliginosa are common pteridophytes. Jarmanet a/.(1988) suggest that the communily'shigh abundance ol sedgesis attributableto eithera greaterfrequency of fireor to edaphiccontrol. In thisstudy both of theseattributes differentiatethe community from the woolly tea-tree community.

6. Melaleacasgua,,/osa tall heath Thiscommunity may have been induced by thelrequent burning of the lowlandeastern sedgey community.The communityis very restrictedand frequent fire is evidentas the community lormsa closedheath dominated bv Melaleucasquarrosa and Pteridium esculenlum about 1.5 rir tall. A similarsuite of speciesto thepreviously described community persist but are reduced in abundanceby the completedominahce ot lhe Melateucaand Pteiiilium. The suiteincludes Hakea terctifolia and Banksiamarginata as parl of the dominant canopy. Lepidosperma filiformeand L. concavumare abundantin the same stratumas LeptocArpusienaxl Xyris operculata,Empodisma minus, Restiocomplanatus, Schoenus tenuiisimud and Patersitnia fragilis.fhe latterare presentin roughlyequal proportions but are mostabundant on a narrow ecolonebetween the heathand the surroundingloresl. Pultenaea stricta, Hibbertia riparia and Epacrislanuginosl are the moslcommon small shrubs. Others,which are sparselyscattered throughoutare Acacia myrtifolia,Epacris impressa, Dillwynia glabberima, D. sbricea and Styph.eliagqscendens Again, the less scierophyllousspecids Xanthosiapusilla, Aotus ericoides,Pimelea linifolia and Boronia parviflora are present. Gleicheniadicarpa, Lindsaea linearis and Selaginella uliginosa are common pteridophytes. List of speciesby community.

Apiaceae Xanthosiapilosa Xanthosiapusilla

Asteraceae Helichrysumdealbatum Hel ich rysu m scorpi oi d e s Lageniferastrpitata

Brassicace ae Cardaminesp.

Brunoniaceae Brunoniaaustralis uv

Campanulaceae Wahlenbergiasp.

Casurarinaceae AlI ocasu ari n a Ii ttoral i s Allocasurari n a mo n i I i fera

Dilleniaceae Hibbertia riparia Hibbe rti a serpyl Iifoli a Epacridaceae Acrotricheserrulata Astrolomahumifusum Brachylomaserrulata Epacils impressa Epacrislanuginosa Leucopogoncollinus Leucopogonericoides Leucopogonaustralis Monotocaglauca Sprengeliaincarnata Stypheliaadscendens

Euphorbiaceae Amperea xiphoclada

Fabaceae Acacia melanoxylon Acacia myrtifolia Acaciasuaveolens Acacia stricta Acacia terminalis Acacia verticillata Aotus ericoides Bossiaeacine rea Bossiaeaprostrata Dillwyniaglaberrima 123456 * Dillwyniasericea Kennediaprostrata PI atyl obi u m obtusangu Iu m Pultenaeadaphnoides var. obcordata Pultenaeagunnii Pultenaeastricta

Ge ntianaceae Centauriumsp.

Gooden iace ae Goodenialanata

Halo rag aceae Gonocarpustetragynus Gonocarpushumilis Gonocarpusmicranthus

Lauraceae Cassythaglabella Loganiaceae Mitrasacmepilosa

Myrtaceae Eucalyptus amygdalina Eucalyptus obliqua Eucalyptus viminalis Leptospermu m Ianig e ru m Leptospermu m scoparium Melaleucasquarrosa Melaleuca ericifolia

Oleaceae Notelaealigustrina

Oxalidaceae Oxalis corniculata

Pittosporaceae Billardierascandens

Proteaceae Banksia marginata Hakea teretifolia Lomatia tinctoria Persooniajuniperina Rhamnaceae Pomaderris pilifera

Rubiaceae Operculariaovata Rutaceae Boroniaparviflora 1 123456 ' Boronianana * i santalaceae Exocarpuscupressiformts * * Leptomeriadrupacea

Stylidiaceae Stylidi u m g ram i nifol i um Trem andaceae Tetrathecapilosa

Thymelaeceae Pimeleahumilis tt Pimelealinifolia

Viol aceae Violahederaceae Violabetonicifolia

Monocotyledonae

Cyperaceae Gahniagrandrs Gahnia radula Lepidospermaconcavum Lepidospermaelatius Lepidosperma filiforme ** Lepidosperma gI adi atu m Gym nosch o e n us sph ae roc e p hal u s Schoenustenuissimus

lridaceae Diplarrenamoraea Patersoniafraqilis

Juncaceae Juncussubsecundus Juncus pallidus *

Liliaceae Dianellatasmanica *** Dianellarevoluta Theli o n e m a caespitosu m

Orch idaceae Thelymilrasp. Poaceae Agrosfissp. ** Eh rh arla di stic h o p hyl I a t*** Danthoniapilosa ** Poa tenera. ** Festucaplebeia ** Strpasp. t* 2 3 naceae Restio * t Empodismaminus * * Hypolaenafastigiata * * RestiocomPlanatus * * Leptocarpustenax

Xanthorrhoeaceae Lomandralongifolia Xantho rrh o ea aust ral i s Xant h o rr h o ea e at a r2u

Xyridacea Xyris operculata

Pteridophyta

Blechnaceae Blechnumwattsii

Den nstaedtiacae Pteridiumesculentum

Lindsaeaceae Lindsaealinearis

Gleich e n iace ae Gleicheniadicarpa

Selaginellaceae Selaginellauliginosa 10

Quadratlocations. Map. 1 : 2O000 1 482954422 2 830 422 3 831 415 4 831 416 5 830.5 416 6 828.5 416 7 827.5 417 B 826 417 o 824.5 418 10 827 418 1 B2B5 418 2 830 5 417 3 831 417 4 832 417.5 5 830.5 418.5 6 829 419.5 17 827 4195 1B 825 4195 19 831 422 20 829.5 422 21 B2B 422 22 825.5 422 23 825 416 24 827.5 416 25 829 415 11

.{ References Buchanan,A. M.,McG eary-Brown, A., and Orchard,A. E. (1989). A Censusof the Tasmanian Vascular Flora. TasmanianHerbarium Occasional Publication No.2.'. Hobart. Duncan,F. and Brown,M. J. (1985).Dry Sclerophyll Vegetation in Tasmania.Wildljfe Division TechnicalReport 85/.1 . National Parks and Wildli{e Service:Tasmania. Gentilli,J. (197 2). Australian Cl imatic Patte rns. Nelson: Melbourne. Jarman,S. J., Kantvilas,G. and Brown,M. J. (1988). ButtongrassMoorland in Tasmania. ResearchReport No. 2. TasmanianForest Research Council Inc.: Hobart.

Kirkpatrick,J. 8., Gilfedder,L., Hickie, J. andHarris, S. (1991\.ReseNation and conservation statusof Tasmaniannative higher p/anls. WildlifeDivision Scientific Report No. 91/2.Depart. Parks, Wildlife and Heritage: Tasmania. Kirkpatrick,J. 8., Peacock,R. J., Cullen, P. J. andNeyland, M. G. (19SS).The Wet Forests of Tasmania.Tasmanian Conservation Trust: Hobarl. Kirkpatrick,J. B. (ed.)(1991). Iasma nian Native Bush: A ManagementHandbook. Tasmanian EnvironmentCentre : Hobart.