Plant Communities of the Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory
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Cunninghamia Date of Publication: 17/6/2013 A journal of plant ecology for eastern Australia ISSN 0727- 9620 (print) • ISSN 2200 - 405X (Online) Plant communities of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory R.C. Armstrong1,4, K.D. Turner2, K.L. McDougall1, R. Rehwinkel1 & J.I. Crooks3,5 1 Regional Operations Group, Office of Environment and Heritage, Queanbeyan NSW 2620, AUSTRALIA. 2 Scientific Services Division, Office of Environment and Heritage, Wollongong NSW 2500, AUSTRALIA. 3 Scientific Services Division, Office of Environment and Heritage, Queanbeyan NSW 2620, AUSTRALIA. 4 Current address: Umwelt (Australia) Pty. Limited, P.O. Box 6135, O’Connor ACT 2602, AUSTRALIA. 5 Current address: Department of Primary Industries, Coffs Harbour NSW 2450, AUSTRALIA. Corresponding author: [email protected] Abstract: Native vegetation of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment in southeast NSW and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was classified into 75 plant communities across 18 NSW Vegetation Classes within nine Structural Formations. Plant communities were derived through numerical analysis of 4,106 field survey plots including 3,787 plots from 58 existing survey datasets and 319 new plots, which were sampled in under surveyed ecosystems. All plant communities are described at a level appropriate for discrimination of threatened ecological communities and distinct vegetation mapping units. The classification describes plant communities in the context of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment and surrounding landscapes of similar ecological character. It incorporates and, in some instances, refines identification of plant communities described in previous classifications of alpine vegetation, forest ecosystems, woodlands and grasslands across the Australian Alps and South Eastern Highlands within the upper Murrumbidgee catchment. Altitude, precipitation, soil saturation, lithology, slope, aspect and landscape position were all important factors in guiding plant community associations. Nine Threatened Ecological Communities under Commonwealth, NSW and ACT legislation occur in the upper Murrumbidgee catchment. This study has also identified five additional plant communities which are highly restricted in distribution and may require active management or protection to ensure their survival. Cunninghamia (2012) 13(1): 125–266 doi: 10.7751/cunninghamia.2013.13.003 Introduction threats and risks to various components of biodiversity, and to prioritise specific ecological values for targeted protection. The classification of vegetation into distinct recurring Systematic vegetation classification based on numerical species assemblages is an essential precursor to the mapping analysis of field survey data is widely used in Australia of vegetation distribution patterns. Together, vegetation and other parts of the world where sufficient field data are classification and mapping are commonly used to inform available. Numerical analysis of field ‘relevé’ data has been biodiversity impact assessment and local and regional progressively developed in Europe through the European land use planning. Systematic vegetation classification Vegetation Survey project (e.g. see Bruelheide & Chytrý and mapping also provide valuable information to identify 2000; Tichý 2002; Schaminée et al. 2007; De Cáceres et Cunninghamia: a journal of plant ecology for eastern Australia © 2013 Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/science/Scientific_publications/cunninghamia 126 Cunninghamia 13(1): 2013 Armstrong et al., Plant communities, upper Murrumbidgee al. 2009). In the development of the United States National This study aimed to classify and describe the native plant Vegetation Classification System, Grossmanet al. (1998) communities of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment at a noted that vegetation classification ideally should be based consistent classification scale or level of detail, based on on the analysis of high quality field data spanning the full numerical analysis of the best available set of full-floristic geographic and environmental range of related vegetation, field survey plot data. Plant communities were delineated and the subsequent US National Vegetation Classification and described at an ‘association’ level compatible with Standard Version 2.0 (FGDC 2008) proposed that natural adjacent regional vegetation classifications and with NSW vegetation types be derived from analysis of field plot data, Scientific Committee determinations, and a level that with these data providing the fundamental information for could be recognised in the field by people with botanical the numerical description of types. training. The study will contribute to the NSW Vegetation Classification and Assessment project (Benson 2006) and Within NSW, many natural resource management decisions the State-wide Vegetation Information System Classification are made by Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) Database (OEH unpublished a). based on information and assessment at the scale of broad catchments. Within the Murrumbidgee CMA area and the ACT, the upper Murrumbidgee River catchment contains a Study Area diverse range of landscapes and vegetation types which are The study area (referred to here as the ‘upper Murrumbidgee subject to ongoing land-use pressures including clearing of catchment’), an area of 1.741 million ha, within the native vegetation for farming and urban development, urban Murrumbidgee catchment in NSW and the Australian Capital expansion and ongoing pastoral management. The upper Territory (ACT) (Figure 1). The upper Murrumbidgee Murrumbidgee catchment has a relatively high density of catchment is characterised by two distinctive bioregions existing vegetation survey plot data collected by previous (or IBRAs): the Australian Alps and the South Eastern vegetation studies, ranging from specific conservation Highlands (Thackway & Cresswell 1995, IBRA version 6.1). reserve surveys to a large regional inventory of forest Approximately 86% of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment ecosystems on public lands, but to date it has not had a falls within the South Eastern Highlands bioregion, with the systematic classification of all plant communities across all Australian Alps bioregion comprising the remaining 14%. Structural Formations across all tenures. Most bioregions contain multiple subregions, based on finer differences in biophysical attributes such as vegetation, Fig. 1. The upper Murrumbidgee catchment study area including major population centres, roads and bioregions. Cunninghamia 13(1): 2013 Armstrong et al., Plant communities, upper Murrumbidgee 127 geology and soil type (NPWS 2003a). The Australian Alps and Yass Valley, as well as the entire jurisdiction of the bioregion contains only one subregion (Australian Alps), ACT. Cities within the study area include Canberra and which occurs across the Alps in NSW, Victoria and the Queanbeyan, with regional centres including Adaminaby, ACT. The South Eastern Highlands bioregion contains ten Batlow, Bungendore, Captains Flat, Cooma and Yass. The subregions, five of which (Bondo, Crookwell, Kybean – upper Murrumbidgee catchment is primarily within the Gourock, Monaro and Murrumbateman) occur within the Southern Tablelands botanical subdivision, with parts of upper Murrumbidgee catchment (Figure 2). The biophysical the north-west within the South Western Slopes botanical characters of these subregions are outlined in Table 2. subdivision (Anderson 1961). The upper Murrumbidgee catchment encompasses parts In developing a plant community classification for the upper of 11 local government areas: Cooma-Monaro, Goulburn- Murrumbidgee catchment it was recognised that many plant Mulwaree, Greater Hume, Gundagai, Palerang, Queanbeyan communities would be distributed beyond the edges of the City, Snowy River, Tumbarumba, Tumut, Upper Lachlan catchment, particularly in similar tableland environments to Table 1: Climate data for the study area. Location Altitude Highest mean Lowest mean Frost days Ave. annual Lowest mean Highest mean (m) max. mean max. mean (ave. no. days/ precipitation monthly monthly rainfall daily temp daily temp year of daily (mm) rainfall (mm) (mm) (°C) (°C) min. ≤ 0°C) Cabramurra 1482 21.4 (Jan) - 0.9 (Jul) 81 1155 43 (Jan) 135 (Aug) Canberra Airport 578 28.0 (Jan) - 0.1 (Jul) 60 616 40 (Jun) 64 (Nov) Cooma (Visitors centre) 778 27.2 (Jan) - 2.8 (Jul) 104 533 27 (Aug) 66 (Nov) Thredbo AWS * 1957 16.3 (Feb) - 5.3 (Jul) 167 1355 85 (June) 151 (Sep) Tumbarumba PO 655 28.7 (Jan) - 0.2 (Jul) 60 976.4 54 (Feb) 107 (Aug) Yass 520 29.5 (Jan) 1.1 (Jul) 46 651 46 (Feb) 65 (Oct) Source: BoM (2011) * Thredbo is located outside the upper Murrumbidgee catchment, but is included as an indication of the climate of alpine areas within the study area. Fig. 2. IBRA subregions of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment study area. 128 Cunninghamia 13(1): 2013 Armstrong et al., Plant communities, upper Murrumbidgee the north and south. In order to address this issue, floristic plot highest recorded temperature variation, with a highest mean data from a broader area (referred to as the ‘broader analysis daily temperature of 27.2°C in January and a minimum mean area’) were included. This encompassed the Australian Alps daily temperature of - 2.8°C in July (BoM 2011). and South Eastern Highlands bioregions from the Victorian border north to Oberon Shire. The broader analysis area Settlement and landuse included a 10 km buffer on the western edge of the study area,