This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 Approved Conservation Advice (s266B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) Approved Conservation Advice for sphaerocarpa var. dolichostyla (Ironcaps Banksia)

This Conservation Advice has been developed based on the best available information at the time this Conservation Advice was approved; this includes existing plans, records or management prescriptions for this .

Description Banksia sphaerocarpa var. dolichostyla, Family , also known as Ironcaps Banksia, is a dense-canopied or small tree to 4 m tall. It has bluish-green, narrowly linear, toothless, glaucous . heads are golden, erect and spherical. Fruiting cones are spherical with up to 60, often crowded, follicles. It differs from Round-fruited Banksia (Banksia sphaerocarpa var. caesia) and Fox Banksia (Banksia sphaerocarpa var. sphaerocarpa) in its longer floral whorl (49–55 mm long) and its longer pistil (carpel, female flower parts) (Brown et al., 1998).

Conservation Status Ironcaps Banksia is listed as vulnerable. This species is eligible for listing as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) (EPBC Act) as, prior to the commencement of the EPBC Act, it was listed as vulnerable under Schedule 1 of the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 (Cwlth). The species is also listed as rare (declared rare flora – extant) under the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 ().

Distribution and Habitat Ironcaps Banksia occurs between Mt Holland and South Ironcap, east of Hyden, Western Australia (Brown et al., 1998). Prior to 1994, there were nine known populations, with about 6500 (Brown et al., 1998). While the species is thought to be fire tolerant, it is not known which populations were burnt during a 1994 fire, or what effect the fire had on the populations or individual plants within them. This species occurs within Avon and Rangelands (Western Australia) Natural Resource Management Regions. Ironcaps Banksia grows on iron-capped hills and rises on ironstone (lateritic) soil profiles. Associated vegetation includes low woodland and low shrubland. Associated vegetation species include Banksia spp. and Allocasuarina spp. (George, 1981; Patrick & Hopper, 1982; Taylor & Hopper, 1988; Hopper et al., 1990; Mollemans et al., 1993; George, 1999). The distribution of this species is not known to overlap with any EPBC Act-listed threatened ecological communities.

Threats The main identified threat to Ironcaps Banksia are direct destruction of plants through gravel mining, mineral exploration and cutting of survey lines; inappropriate fire regimes; weed invasion; changed hydrology; salinisation; and fragmentation (Mollemans et al., 1993; NLWRA, 2002). Mining-related activities may increase weed invasion and encourage inappropriate fire regimes (Mollemans et al., 1993). The species occurs mostly on vacant Crown land, in areas of significant gold and nickel deposits. Mining leases are common over these areas and future developments may threaten this species (Taylor & Hopper, 1988; Mollemans et al., 1993; Brown et al., 1998).

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. caesia Conservation Advice - Page 1 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 Research Priorities Research priorities that would inform future regional and local priority actions include: • Design and implement a monitoring program, or, if appropriate, support and enhance existing programs. • More precisely assess population size, distribution, ecological requirements and the relative impacts of threatening processes. • Investigate appropriate fire regimes for Ironcaps Banksia to allow maturation of individuals and promote seed .

Regional and Local Priority Actions The following priority recovery and threat abatement actions can be done to support the recovery of Ironcaps Banksia. Habitat Loss, Disturbance and Modification • Monitor known populations to identify key threats. • Monitor the progress of recovery, including the effectiveness of management actions and the need to adapt them if necessary. • Minimise adverse impacts from land use at known sites. • Identify populations of high conservation priority. • Ensure mining exploration, mining, road widening and maintenance activities involving substrate or vegetation disturbance in areas where Ironcaps Banksia occurs do not adversely impact on populations. • Investigate formal conservation arrangements such as the use of covenants, conservation agreements or inclusion in reserve tenure. • Manage any changes to hydrology that may result in changes to the water table levels, increased run-off or salinity Fire • Ensure that Prescribed Fire Plans for the region identify populations of Ironcaps Banksia and take its required fire regime into account. • Provide maps of known occurrences to local and state Rural Fire Services and seek inclusion of mitigative measures in bush fire risk management plans, risk register and/or operation maps. Invasive Weeds • Identify and remove weeds in the local area, which could become a threat to the species, using appropriate methods. • Manage sites to prevent introduction of weeds in the local area, which could become a threat to Ironcaps Banksia, using appropriate methods. Conservation Information • Raise awareness of Ironcaps Banksia within the local community and users of the Crown land on which the species occurs. Enable Recovery of Additional Sites and/or Populations • Undertake appropriate seed collection and storage. • Investigate options for linking, enhancing or establishing additional populations. • Implement national translocation protocols (Vallee et al., 2004) if establishing additional populations is considered necessary and feasible. This list does not necessarily encompass all actions that may be of benefit to the Ironcaps Banksia, but highlights those that are considered to be of highest priority at the time of preparing the conservation advice.

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. caesia Conservation Advice - Page 2 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 Existing Plans/Management Prescriptions that are Relevant to the Species • Declared rare flora and other plants in need of special protection in the Merredin District (Mollemans et al., 1993). This prescription was current at the time of publishing; please refer to the relevant agency’s website for any updated version.

Information Sources: Brown, A, Tomson-Dans, C & Marchant, N (Eds) 1998, Western Australia’s Threatened Flora, Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, Como. George, AS 1981, ‘The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae),’ Nuytsia, vol. 3, no. 3, pp, 239–473, Western Australian Department of Agriculture, Perth. George, AS 1999, ‘Banksia’, in: Orchard, AE, Thompson, HS & McCarthy, PM, (eds) . Vol. 17B, pp. 175–251. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra/Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Melbourne. Hopper, SD, van Leeuwen, S, Brown, AP & Patrick, SJ 1990, Western Australia's Endangered Flora and other plants under consideration for declaration, Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth. Mollemans, FH, Brown, PH & Coates, DJ 1993, Declared rare flora and other plants in need of special protection in the Merredin District (excluding the Wongan-Ballidu Shire), Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, Canberra/Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth. National Land and Water Resources Audit (NLWRA) 2002, Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2002, National Land and Water Resources Audit, Canberra. Patrick, SJ & Hopper, SD 1982, Guide to the Gazetted Rare Flora of Western Australia: Supplement 1, Report No. 54, Dept. of Fisheries & Wildlife, Perth. Taylor, A & Hopper, SD 1988, ‘The Banksia Atlas’, In: Australian Flora and Fauna Series, vol. 8, AGPS, Canberra. Vallee, L, Hogbin, T, Monks, L, Makinson, B, Matthes, M & Rossetto, M 2004, Guidelines for the Translocation of Threatened Plants in Australia (2nd ed.), Australian Network for Conservation, Canberra.

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