NSW Central Murray Forests Ramsar Site Ecological Character Description
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NSW Central Murray Forests Ramsar Site Ecological Character Description NSW Central Murray Forests Ramsar site Ecological Character Description June 2011 Citation: Harrington, B. and Hale, J., 2011, Ecological Character Description for the NSW Central Murray Forests Ramsar site. Report to the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberra. Copyright: © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia, 2011. The NSW Central Murray Forests Ramsar Site Ecological Character Description is licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, the logo of the agency responsible for publishing the report, content supplied by third parties, and any images depicting people. For licence conditions see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This report should be attributed as ‘The NSW Central Murray Forests Ramsar Site Ecological Character Description, Commonwealth of Australia 2011’. The Commonwealth of Australia has made all reasonable efforts to identify content supplied by third parties using the following format ‘© Copyright, [name of third party]’. The steering committee was comprised of the following: • Paul Childs, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NSW) • Alison Curtin, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) • John Foster, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities • Simon Godschlax, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities • Ross McDonnell, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NSW) • Gary Rodda / Stephen Campbell, Forests New South Wales • Barbara Sanders, Forests New South Wales • Rick Webster, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NSW) Introductory Notes This Ecological Character Description (ECD Publication) has been prepared in accordance with the National Framework and Guidance for Describing the Ecological Character of Australia’s Ramsar Wetlands (National Framework) (Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2008). The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) prohibits actions that are likely to have a significant impact on the ecological character of a Ramsar wetland unless the Commonwealth Environment Minister has approved the taking of the action, or some other provision in the EPBC Act allows the action to be taken. The information in this ECD Publication does not indicate any commitment to a particular course of action, policy position or decision. Further, it does not provide assessment of any particular action within the meaning of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), nor replace the role of the Minister or his delegate in making an informed decision to approve an action. The Water Act 2007 requires that in preparing the [Murray-Darling] Basin Plan, the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) must take into account Ecological Character Descriptions of declared Ramsar wetlands prepared in accordance with the National Framework. This ECD Publication is provided without prejudice to any final decision by the Administrative Authority for Ramsar in Australia on change in ecological character in accordance with the requirements of Article 3.2 of the Ramsar Convention. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Australian Government or the Minister for the Environment. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the contents of this ECD are correct, the Commonwealth of Australia as represented by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities does not guarantee and accepts no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to the currency, accuracy, completeness, reliability or suitability of the information in this ECD. Note: There may be differences in the type of information contained in this ECD publication, to those of other Ramsar wetlands. Cover photos (left to right): Central Murray Forests – Jeanette Muirhead (SEWPAC) Central Murray Forests – Jeanette Muirhead (SEWPAC) Ibis – Sarah Young (SEWPAC) Barr Creek in Central Murray Forests – John Baker (SEWPAC) Central Murray Forests – Jeanette Muirhead (SEWPAC) 3 Table of Contents Glossary ..................................................................................................................................... iii List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. vi Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. vii 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Site details........................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Statement of purpose ....................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Relevant treaties, legislation and regulations .................................................................. 4 1.4 Method ............................................................................................................................. 7 2. General Description of the NSW Central Murray Forests Ramsar site ................................. 9 2.1 Location ............................................................................................................................ 9 2.1.1 Millewa Forest Group ................................................................................................ 9 2.1.2 Koondrook-Perricoota Forest Group ......................................................................... 9 2.1.3 Werai Forest Group ................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Land tenure .................................................................................................................... 10 2.3 Flora and fauna overview ............................................................................................... 13 2.4 Wetland types ................................................................................................................ 13 2.5 Ramsar criteria ............................................................................................................... 17 2.5.1 Criteria under which the site was designated ......................................................... 17 2.5.2 Assessment based on current Ramsar criteria ....................................................... 18 3. Components and Processes ............................................................................................... 24 3.1 Climate ........................................................................................................................... 27 3.2 Geomorphic setting ........................................................................................................ 29 3.3 Hydrology ....................................................................................................................... 31 3.3.1 Millewa Forest Group .............................................................................................. 33 3.3.2 Koondrook-Perricoota Forest Group ....................................................................... 37 3.3.3 Werai Forest Group ................................................................................................. 40 3.3.4 Environmental watering ........................................................................................... 41 3.3.5 Groundwater ............................................................................................................ 41 3.4 Water quality .................................................................................................................. 42 3.5 Wetland vegetation ........................................................................................................ 43 3.5.1 River red gum forests and woodlands ..................................................................... 45 3.5.2 Floodplain marshes ................................................................................................. 49 3.6 Fish ................................................................................................................................ 50 3.7 Wetland birds ................................................................................................................. 51 3.8 Other wetland fauna ....................................................................................................... 54 4. Ecosystem Services ............................................................................................................ 55 4.1 Overview of benefits and services ................................................................................. 55 4.2 Identifying critical ecosystem services and benefits ...................................................... 55 4.3 Critical services .............................................................................................................. 57 4.3.1 Supports significant wetland types .......................................................................... 57 4.3.2 Provides physical habitat for wetland bird breeding and feeding