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, GLOUCESTER AND CHICHESTER MANAGEMENT AREAS, CENTRAL REGION, NEW SOUTH WALES By Doug Binns S TAT E FORESTS RESEARCH DIVISION Forest Resources Series No. 34 December, 1995 The Author: Doug Binns, Research Officer, Forestry 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.O. Box 100, Beecroft 2119 Australia. Copyright © 1995 by State Forests of New South Wales DDC 581.099442 ISSN 1033 1220 ISBN 073106724 X CONTENTS ABSTRACT III INT..R.ODUCTION 1 METHODS 2 1. PLOTLOCATION 2 2. FLORISTIC AND VEGETA110N STRUCTURAL DATA 5 3. HABITATDATA 5 4. LIMITA110NS 6 5. TAXONOMYAND NOMENCLATURE 6 6. DATA ANALYSIS 7 RESULTS 9 1. FLORISTICS 9 2. OVERSTOREYCOMlvfUNlTIES 9 3. NON-EUCALYPT ("UNDERSTOREY'') FLORISTIC COMMUNITIES 15 4. DESCRIPTIONS OFPLANTCOMlvfUNlTIES 16 A.RAINFOREST 16 B. MOIST COASTAL EUCALYPT FOREST 20 C. DRY COASTAL EUCALYPT FOREST 21 D. PLATEAU GRASSY EUCALYPT FOREST 24 E. PLATEAU RIPARIAN AND SHRUBBY OPEN FOREST 25 F. HEATII FOREST, LOW FOREST AND SHRUBLAND 26 G. PLATEAUWETHEATIIAND SEDGELAND 28 5. LOGGING IMPACT 29 DISCUSSION 32 1. SIGNIFICANTPLANTSPECIES 32 (aj Nationally significant species 32 (b) Other species o/significance 36 2. CONSERVATIONSTATUS OF OVERSTOREY COMlvfUNlTIES 37 3. IMPACT OFLOGGING 39 4. FERAL ANIMALS 41 5. WEEDS 41 STATE FORESTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES FLORA SURVEY, GLOUCESTER-CHICHESTER MANAGEMENT FOREST RESOURCES SERIES NO. 34 AREAS, CENTRAL REGION, NEW SOUTH WALES RECOMMENDATIONS 42 1. INTRODUCTION 42 2. SIGNIFICANT SPECIES 42 3. RESERVATIONOFCOMMUNITIES 44 (a) Existing State Forest reserves 47 (b) Status offorest overstorey communities and additional reserve requirements 47 (c) Distinctive and significant understorey communities 49 4. INADEQUATELYRESERVED FOREST TYPES/ASSOCIATIONS 49 IDENTIFIED FROMOLD GROWTHFORESTS 5. FIREMANAGEMENT 50 6. GRAZING AND VERTEBRATE PESTS 50 7. WEEDS 51 8. TOURISM 51 9. SUMMARY OFRECOMMENDATIONS 51 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 53 REFERENCES 53 TABLES Table 1. Comparison and conservation status offorest vegetation communities 10 FIGURES Figure la. Locations offlora survey plots, Gloucester M.A. 3 Figure lb. Locations offlora survey plots, Chichester M.A. 4 Figure 2. Dendrogram from floristic classification ofbasal area ofwoody species 14 Figure 3. Dendrogram from floristic classification ofpercentage cover 15 Figure 4. Scatterplot ofhybrid MDS co-ordinates for wet sclerophyll 30 and rainforest plots Figure 5. Scatterplot ofhybrid MDS co-ordinates for dry sclerophyll plots 31 Figure 6a. Location ofproposed reserves for flora conservation, Gloucester M.A. 43 Figure 6b. Location ofproposed reserves for flora conservation, Chichester M.A. 44 APPENDICES Appendix 1. Occurrence ofvascular plant species by floristic group, 55 logging category and State Forest Appendix 2. Briefdescriptions ofunderstorey communities 74 Appendix 3. Summary oflocations and floristic community offlora survey plots 86 FLORA SURVEY, GLOUCESTER-CillCHESTER MANAGEMENT STATE FORESTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES ii AREAS, CENTRAL REGION, NEW SOUTH WALES FOREST RESOURCES SERIES NO. 34 ABSTRACT The vegetation of the State Forests of Gloucester and Chichester Management Areas, which together occupy about 110 000 hectares, is described on the basis of ·128 survey plots. Each plot is 0.1 ha (50 x 20 m), distributed to sample the full range of vegetation types, including logged and unlogged areas. Over 750 native vascular plant species and about 20 naturalized species were recorded from the survey plots. Forests ofthe area were classified into 31 overstorey communities, including 13 rainforest types and 17 eucalypt types. The most extensive eucalypt forest types are those dominated by E. campanulata, E. obliqua, E. fastigata, E. laevopinea or E. saligna. The most frequently recorded eucalypt species are E. saligna (43 plots), E. obliqua and E. campanulata (25 and 24 plots respectively). Understorey was broadly classified into 23 communities. The most extensive were a grassy plateau group characterized by Poa sieberiana and Lomandra longifolia and a dry sclerophyll group of Imperata cylindrica, Dianella caerulea and Lomandra longifolia. Wet sclerophyll forests included a range of understorey types. Several floristically distinct shrub and sedge communities were also recognized. Logging impact was difficult to assess in detail from survey data. Logged areas support similar numbers of species to unlogged areas. Most of the more frequent (recorded in five or more plots) species are apparently unaffected by logging. Twenty two species (including one introduced) apparently favour logged plots while two species are more frequent in unlogged plots. Over half of the total number ofspecies occurred at too Iowa frequency to allow valid assessment oflogging impact. At least some ofthese may be sensitive to logging. Logging has little or no detectable impact on overall floristic composition relative to spatial variation. There will be some effect on individual sites, at least in the short term, but the magnitude ofthat effect is not possible to determine from survey data. Sixteen plant species ofnational conservation significance are recorded from, or may occur in the area. This is a relatively low number of significant species as a proportion of the total flora, compared to other forest management areas. The majority of these species are endemic or virtually endemic to the Barrington and Gloucester Tops plateaux, and several occur most commonly in swamps or riparian vegetation. A few, notably Tasmannia purpurascens and Chiloglottis platyptera, occur in commercially important forests. At least one species, Euphrasia ciliolata, seems to favour disturbed areas. Five species are considered of regional conservation significance. The most serious threats to rare plants are invasion by the exotic broom and damage (particular to swamp communities) by feral pigs. Many ofthe plant communities are reserved in Barrington Tops National Park. Communities which are poorly reserved and need particular attention are Waterhousea floribunda, a very restricted lowland rainforest community not currently reserved in the area, and dry forests of E. canaliculata­ E. eugenioides and E. camea-E. maculata, which are represented by few unlogged stands and not well reserved. Shrub and sedge communities are distinct and significant because they are important habitat for rare plants, but are generally well represented in Barrington Tops NP. Recommendations are made for further reservation or specific management of rare or threatened species and inadequately reserved communities. STATE FORESTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES FLORA SURVEY, GLOUCESTER-CHICHESTER MANAGEMENT FOREST RESOURCES SERIES NO. 34 AREAS, CENTRAL REGION, NEW SOUTH WALES iii _______________________--------------------------_----1 IN-TROD UC TION This report presents the results ofa survey ofvascular plant species undertaken in the State Forests and selected leasehold lands offorestry interest within Gloucester and Chichester Forest Management Areas, on the plateau, slopes and nearby foothills of Barrington Tops, New South Wales. The survey area is bounded by latitudes 31°45' to 32°25' S and longitudes 151°15' to 152°00' E, comprises approximately 110 000 ha and contains the following State Forests: Avon River, Barrington, BoWman, Chichester, Coneac, Copeland Tops, Craven, Fosterton, Giro, Masseys Creek, Memot, Stewa,rts Brook, Trevor and part of Mount Royal. This area, its physical characteristics and management history are described by the Forestry Commission ofNew South Wales (1980, 1984). The general aim ofthe survey was to describe the vegetation in the context of management ofthe area for commercial forestry purposes. More specifically, the objectives were: i) to describe the terrestrial vascular flora of the area, particularly the vegetation types and distribution, habitat and abundance ofplant species; ii) to relate vegetation types to forest type map units used for forest management purposes; iii) to identify vascular plant species ofparticular botanical or conservation significance; iv) to identify vegetation types or communities ofbotanical or conservation significance and suggest representative areas for reservation where considered necessary; v) to compare the flora ofareas ofvarious forest management histories and consider likely impacts ofproposed forestry operations on flora. The field work was carried out by D. Binns and T. Brassil, mostly during January-May 1992. STATE FORESTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES FLORA SURVEY, GLOUCESTER-CffiCHESTER MANAGEMENT FOREST RESOURCES SERIES NO. 34 AREAS, CENTRAL REGION, NEW SOUTH WALES METHODS 1. PLOTLOCATION Floristic data were derived from non-permanent plots established within the Study Area. The basic" sampling strategy was stratification by mapped forest types (Forestry Commission ofNew South Wales unpubl. maps), previously prepared from aerial photograph interpretation with extensive field checking, using either Royal Milli Assessment types (Forestry Commission ofNew South Wales 1980, 1984) or Forest Types (Forestry Commission of New South Wales,