Flora Survey, Urunga & Coffs Harbour Management Areas, Northern
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This document has been scanned from hard-copy archives for research and study purposes. Please note not all information may be current. We have tried, in preparing this copy, to make the content accessible to the widest possible audience but in some cases we recognise that the automatic text recognition maybe inadequate and we apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause. FLORA SURVEY, QUEAN BEYAN/BADJ A ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AREA, SOUTHERN REGION, NEW SOUTH WALES By V. Jurs kis, R. Shiels and D. Binns S TAT E FORESTS RESEARCH DIVISION FLORA SURVEY, QUEANBEYANjBADJA ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AREA, SOUTHERN REGION, NEW -SOUTH WALES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT QUEANBEYAN AND BADJA MANAGEMENT AREAS SUPPORTING DOCUMENT 3 by V. JURSKIS. R SHIELS. ANDD. BINNS RESEARCH DIVISION STATE FORESTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES SYDNEY 1995 Forest Resources Series No. 32 December, 1995 The Authors: V. Jurskis, Research Forester, Southern Research Centre, State Forests of New South Wales, Eden. R. Shiels, Forest Assistant, Ecology, Southern Research Centre, State Forests of New South Wales, Eden. D. Binns, Research Officer, Forest Ecology Section, Research Division, State Forests of New South Wales. Published by: Research Division, State Forests of New South Wales, 27 Oratava Avenue, West Pennant Hills, 2125 p.a. Box 100, Beecroft 2119 Australia. Copyright © 1995 by State Forests of New South Wales DDC 581.099447 ISSN 1033-1220 ISBN 073106723 1 CONTENTS ABSTRACT iii INTRODUCTION 1 THE STUDY AREA 2 1. LOCATION 2 2. PHYSIOGRAPHY AND GEOGRAPHY 2 3. DISTURBANCE HISTORY 2 4. PREVIOUS VEGETATION STUDIES 3 METHODS 4 1. SITE WCATION 4 2. DATA COLLECTION 6 3. TAXONOMY AND NOMENCLATURE 6 4. liMITATIONS 6 5. DATAANALYSIS 6 RESULTS 8 1. FWRISTICS 8 2. FOREST OVERSTOREY GROUPS 8 3. UNDERSTOREY FLORISTIC GROUPS 8 4. VEGETATION TYPES 8 Group 1 Eucalyptusjastigata forest 9 Group 2 Eucalyptus obliqua forest 10 Group 3 Eucalyptus jraxinoides forest 10 Group 4 Eucalyptus sieberi forest 11 Group 5 Eucalyptus dalrympleana forest 12 Group 5r Eucalyptus dalrympleana - Eucalyptus radiata forest 12 Group 6 Eucalyptus radiata - E.viminalis forest 13 Group 6s Eucalyptus smithii forest 13 Group 7 Eucalyptus viminalis forest 13 Group 8 Eucalyptus pauciflora open forest 14 Group 9 Eucalyptus nitens forest 14 Group 10 Eucalyptus rubida open forest 15 Group 11 Eucalyptus melliodora - E. tereticornis forest 15 Group 12 Eucalyptus globoidea forest 15 Group 13 Eucalyptus muelleriana forest 16 Group 14 Eucalyptus mannifera woodland 16 Group 15 Eucalyptus stellulata forest 16 Group 16 Rainforest 17 Group 17 Grasslands 17 Group 18 Heath 18 Group 19 Swamp Heath 18 STATE FORESTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES FLORA SURVEY, QUEANBEYAN/BADJA EIS AREA, FOREST RESOURCES SERIES NO. 32 SOUTHERN REGION, NEW SOUTH WALES 5. COMPARISON OF VEGETATION CLASSIFICATIONS 19 6. LOGGINGIMPACT 22 DISCUSSION 26 1. SIGNIFICANT PLANT SPECIES 26 2. CONSERVATION STATUS OF PLANT COMMUNITIES 28 (a) Background information 28 (b) Plant Communities 32 3. IMPACT OF LOGGING 39 4. WEEDS 40 RECOMMENDATIONS 41 1. INTRODUCTION 41 2. SIGNIFICANT PLANT SPECIES 41 3. SIGNIFICANT PLANT COMMUNITIES 42 4. AMEliORATION OF FORESTRY IMPACTS 43 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 44 REFERENCES 45 TABLES Table 1. Distribution ofplots by broad geographic categories 4 Table 2. Relationship between'Overstorey Groups, QFS Communities, Forest Types 20 and Understorey Floristic Groups by plot number Table 3. Species richness ofplots compared with logging history 24 Table 4. Species showing a significant difference in distribution between 24 logged and unlogged plots Table 5. Species showing a significant differe~ce in cover between 25 logged and unlogged plots Table 6. Conservation status ofvegetation groups from Benson (1989) 28 Table 7. Areas of Vegetation Groups and Types in the proposed Tuross-Deua National Park 29 Table 8. Areas ofForest Types and sampling intensity 30 Table 9. Estimated areas ofVegetation Groups within the Study Area 31 Table 10. Eucalypt Vegetation Groups and Conservation Status 33 FIGURES Figure 1. Plot locations and ROTAP records 5 Figure 2. Scatterplot ofhybrid MDS co-ordinates for plots grouped by logging category 23 APPENDICES Appendix 1 Species list and occurrences by plots 47 Appendix 2 Forest Overstorey Groups 63 Appendix 3 Understorey Floristic Groups 66 FLORA SURVEY, QUEANBEYAN/BADJA EIS AREA, STATE FORESTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES ii SOUTIIERN REGION, NEW SOUTH WALES FOREST RESOURCES SERIES NO. 32 ABSTRACT This report describes a survey ofvascular flora in the Queanbeyan and Badja Management Areas on the Southern Tableland of New South Wales. An area of approximately 80,000 ha of State Forest and Leasehold land was surveyed using 112 non-permanent survey plots each {).t ha in area. Plots were randomly distributed within strata defined by mapped forest types. Additional information was obtained from other published and unpublished reports and data bases. About500 vascularplanttaxa are known from the area, including 15 rare plants and 21 naturalised exotics. InfOlmationfromthesurveyplots was analysed using anumericalhierarchical agglomerative classification system. Trees were classified into 18 groups and understorey plants were classified into 28 groups in the analyses. Based on these classifications, 35 plant communiti~s were described in 21 broader vegetation groups comprising the 18 tree dominated groups and three non-forest groups. The communities were related to ForestTypes which are the operationalscale vegetationunits used by StateForests Management Logged and unlogged areas were surveyed. Floristic variation associated with logging history was less than that encompassed by natural environmental variation. The conservation status ofthe plant communities and ofthe rare plants was assessed. Recommendations intended to assure the conservation ofthe flora are presented. STATE FORESTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES FLORA SURVEY, QUEANBEYAN/BADJA EIS AREA, FOREST RESOURCES SERIES NO. 32 SOUTIIERN REGION, NEW SOUTH WALES iii /NTROD ueT/ON This reportpresentsthe results ofa sUlvey ofvascularflora undertaken in State Forests and CrownTimber Lands in thevicinity ofthe Great Dividing Range east ofQueanbeyan and Cooma insouthernNew South Wales. The objectives were: 1. To describe the vegetation ofthe area and compile an inventory ofvascular flora. 2. To identify flora ofparticular conservation significance. 3. To identify vegetation types ofparticular conservation significance. 4. To assess the significance ofthe flora in local, regional, state and national contexts. 5. To considerlikely impacts onthe flora ofproposed forestry operations and discuss possible options to ameliorate the likely impacts. STATE FORESTS OF NEW soum WALES FLORA SURVEY, QUEANBEYAN/BADJA EIS AREA, FOREST RESOURCES SERIES NO. 32 SOUTHERN REGION, NEW SOUTH WALES 1 THE STUDY AREA 1. LOCATION The Study Area comprises Tallaganda, Bendoura, Berlang and Badja State Forests and associated Crown Timber Lands which lie on or adjacent to the Great Dividing Range east of Queanbeyan and Cooma in southern New South Wales. It is bounded approximately by latitudes 35° IS' - 36°15'S and longitudes 149° 24' E- 149° 45' E and covers about 80,000 ha. 2. PHYSIOGRAPHYAND GEOGRAPHY The area occupies the Great Dividing Range which forms the watershed between the 'coastal' rivers including the Shoalhaven and Tuross Rivers which drain towards the east coast ofthe continent and the 'inland' rivers - Molonglo, Queanbeyan, Bredbo and Numeralla which drain in a westerly and southerly direction to the south coast ofthe continent. A small area (roughly 1800 ha) ofthe north western corner ofTallaganda State Forest drains into Lake George which is an inland lake not connected with the ocean. Bendoura and BerlangState Forests form aseparate smallerareato the eastofthe GreatDivide onthe lower watershed between two coastal rivers - the Deua and the Shoalhaven. The Shoalhaven is generally northerly flowing in this locality, while a number of tributaries of the Deua flow in generally easterly direction. Elevations in the Study Area range from around 200 m on the Tuross Riverto around 1400m on the higher peaks ofthe Great Divide. The area contains alargeproportionofmountainous terrainand smallerproportions ofhillyorflat to rolling terrain (Forestry Commission ofNew South Wales 1983, 1984). A complex array ofgeological types occur in the area but the major types are (roughly in decreasing order of abundance) Silurian/Devonian granites, Ordovician sediments, Silurian and Upper Silurian acid volcanics and sediments and UpperDevoniansediments (Forestry CommissionofNew SouthWales 1983, 1984). 3. DISTURBANCE HISTORY Thenorthern partofthe area inthe vicinity ofCaptainsFlathas alonghistory ofselective logging (Forestry Commission ofNew South Wales 1984). More recently (last decade) logging has concentrated on the southern part ofthe area south from around Anembo. Due to market limitations and the Forest Types present, the recent logging has been reasonably selective and confined to a fairly narrow range ofForest Types. Some areas have been utilised for grazing, particularly areas offlat to rolling terrain adjoining freehold property in the south ofthe area. FLORA SURVEY, QUEANBEYAN/BADJA EIS AREA, STATB FORESTS OF NEW SOUTIl WALES 2 SOUTIlERN REGION, NEW SOUTIl WALES FOREST RESOURCES SERIES NO. 32 The area has notbeenfrequently affected bywildfire. Three severe wildfrres wererecorded in 1939, 1955 and 1961 (Forestry Commission ofNew South Wales 1984). 4. PREVIOUS VEGErATION STUDIES The areahas beenclassified