Cumberland Plain Ecological Communities

Australian

ThreatenedCumberland Plain EcologicalSpecies Communities

CONSERVATION STATUS CUMBERLAND PLAIN WOODLAND COMMONWEALTH: Endangered (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) NEW SOUTH WALES: Endangered (Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995) SHALE/SANDSTONE TRANSITION FOREST COMMONWEALTH: Endangered (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) NEW SOUTH WALES: Endangered (Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995) Other vegetation communities including Elderslie Banksia scrub, Castlereagh swamp woodland and Blue gum high forest are also considered endangered under NSW legislation. Photo: Botanic Gardens Trust - J.Plaza

Western Sydney’s Cumberland Plain are found nowhere else in Australia. region is home to the state’s first and They range from open grassy woodlands largest human settlement. It has been to rainforest, tall forests to bushy scrub. DID YOU KNOW... heavily cleared over the past 200 years, These remnants are also home to • Cumberland Plain woodland was the first for agriculture and then for urban threatened plants and animals such as first endangered ecological community expansion. Only 12 per cent of the the endangered shrub Pimelea spicata to be listed under Commonwealth original vegetation remains. Of the and the Cumberland Plain Land Snail. legislation 22 Cumberland Plain ecological • Each month over 6000 volunteers communities, 12 are so badly affected work on-ground to help restore our they are listed as endangered. Along with precious natural environment in the clearing, weeds are one of the biggest WHERE IS THE Cumberland Plain threats facing these fragmented patches • A Cumberland Plain woodland of bush. CUMBERLAND PLAIN? recovery plan is being developed. The Cumberland Plain basin stretches It involves cooperation from from Ryde in the east to the Nepean River state government agencies, local in the west, and from Cattai in the north governments, catchment management WHAT DO THEY LOOK to Thirlmere in the south. Altitude ranges authorities, community groups, and mainly from 20 to 100 metres and the the housing industry. LIKE? plain receives less than 800 millimetres An ecological community is a group of rainfall each year. of species (plants and animals) found together in a particular area, usually with similar soil, landscape and weather. The 12 endangered ecological communities of the Cumberland Plain ESCAPED GARDEN WEEDS: A MAJOR THREAT!

The most common weeds in the area are WHY ARE ESCAPED fireweed, spear thistle, cat’s ear, African olive, pigeon-grass, plaintain, paddy’s GARDEN WEEDS lucerne, bridal creeper and sow thistle. Birds that eat berries of the weed plant A PROBLEM IN also often spread weed species and deposit seeds elsewhere. In this way AUSTRALIA? plants from gardens in urbanised Weeds cause major problems for our areas spread to other patches many environment and cost the economy suburbs away. around $4 billion every year. Garden plant introductions make up over 70 per cent of the 1,765 listed environmental weeds. These plants compete with native species WHAT’S BEING DONE? for light, space and nutrients and smother Many Sydney & region councils are raising existing vegetation. They also change the awareness of local weed species. The structure of an ecological community by NSW & ACT Nursery & Garden Industry creating a thick tangle on the ground or has embarked on a ‘Grow Me Instead’ blocking sun as they overtake trees above. program, promoting alternatives to known escaped garden weeds and encouraging Some plants are more likely to become nursery growers and sellers to remove invasive than others – for example, known or potential weed products from they might grow aggressively, have no sale. Thousands of volunteers also natural predators, or are easily dispersed. work to protect the Cumberland Plain Moth vine in Cumberland Plain woodland. Their ability to invade bushland is ecological communities. These groups Photo: Richard Hocking also increased by factors such as soil remove weeds from bushland, help create disturbance from clearing, increased corridors between remnant patches and urban runoff, and the dumping of green raise community awareness. waste into bushland. In addition the Australian Government recently launched its new four-year, $40 million Defeating the Weeds Menace WHY ARE WEEDS program, which takes a national approach to tackling our most significant weeds.

A THREAT IN THE CONTACTS AND REFERENCES CUMBERLAND PLAIN? Alison Colyer Remaining bush in the Cumberland Plain is HOW YOU CAN HELP NSW & ACT Coordinator highly fragmented, often creating islands of Threatened Species Network • Check with your local council or your Ph: (02) 8202 1222 bushland in a sea of houses. Weeds move regional Sydney Weeds Committee to easily across the boundaries between the Email: [email protected] identify weeds in your area Visit: www.wwf.org.au/tsn two areas, with gardens providing a • Remove all potential or known weeds constant source of new weeds. and ideally replace them with local Sydney Weeds Committee native plants that will support wildlife Visit: www.sydneyweeds.org.au - ask your local nursery for a list of potential weeds and alternative species Department of Environment • Join a local community conservation and Conservation group Ph: 131 555 • Do not release aquarium or pond plants Email: [email protected] into streams or dump garden waste in Visit: www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/npws. bushland nsf/Content/Recovery+planning+for +the+Cumberland+Plains+endangered +ecological+communities

You can also find out more information about Australia’s threatened species by visiting www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened or contacting the Department of the Environment and Heritage Community Information Unit on The Threatened Species Network is a community-based free-call 1800 803 772. program of the Australian Government & WWF-Australia.