Conservation Advice (Incorporating Listing Advice) for the Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain Ecological Community
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Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) (s 266B) Approved Conservation Advice (incorporating listing advice) for the Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain ecological community 1. The Threatened Species Scientific Committee (the Committee) was established under the EPBC Act and has obligations to present advice to the Minister for the Environment and Energy (the Minister) in relation to the listing and conservation of threatened ecological communities, including under sections 189, 194N and 266B of the EPBC Act. 2. The Committee provided its advice on the Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain ecological community to the Minister as a draft of this conservation advice. In 2016, the Minister accepted the Committee’s advice, adopting this document as the approved conservation advice. 3. The Minister amended the list of threatened ecological communities under section 184 of the EPBC Act to include the Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain ecological community in the endangered category. Western Australia recognises components of this ecological community as threatened. 4. Draft sections of this conservation advice, and the proposed conservation category, were made available for expert and public comment for a minimum of 30 business days. The Committee and Minister had regard to all public and expert comment that was relevant to the consideration of the ecological community. 5. This approved conservation advice has been developed based on the best available information at the time it was approved; this includes scientific literature, advice from consultations, and existing plans, records or management prescriptions for this ecological community. Conservation Advice approved 26 August 2016 Listing effective 16 September 2016 Page 1 of 143 Table of Contents 1. DESCRIPTION OF THE ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY .................................................. 5 1.1 Name of the ecological community ................................................................................. 5 1.2 Location and physical environment ................................................................................. 5 1.3 Vegetation ........................................................................................................................ 7 1.3.1 Flora .......................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.2 Variability ................................................................................................................. 9 1.4 Fauna .............................................................................................................................. 13 1.5 Fungi .............................................................................................................................. 15 2. GUIDANCE FOR DETERMINING WHETHER THE BANKSIA WOODLANDS ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY PROTECTED UNDER THE EPBC ACT IS PRESENT ... 17 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 17 2.2 Key diagnostic characteristics and condition thresholds ............................................... 18 2.2.1 Step 1: Key diagnostic characteristics .................................................................... 18 2.2.2 Step 2: Condition thresholds ................................................................................... 21 2.2.3 Step 3: Minimum patch size ................................................................................... 23 2.2.4 Step 4: Further information to assist in determining the presence of the ecological community and significant impacts ................................................................................. 23 2.3 Area critical to the survival of the ecological community ............................................. 27 2.4 National context and other existing protection .............................................................. 27 3. SUMMARY OF THREATS ................................................................................................ 30 4. SUMMARY OF ELIGIBILITY FOR LISTING AGAINST EPBC ACT CRITERIA ....... 31 Criterion 1 – Decline in geographic distribution ................................................................. 31 Criterion 2 – Small geographic distribution coupled with demonstrable threat .................. 31 Criterion 3 – Loss or decline of functionally important species .......................................... 31 Criterion 4 – Reduction in community integrity .................................................................. 31 Criterion 5 – Rate of continuing detrimental change ........................................................... 32 Criterion 6 – Quantitative analysis showing probability of extinction ................................ 32 5. PRIORITY RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS ......................................... 33 5.1 Conservation objective ................................................................................................... 33 5.2 Priority protection and restoration actions ..................................................................... 33 5.2.1 PROTECT ............................................................................................................... 34 5.2.2 RESTORE ............................................................................................................... 37 Conservation Advice approved 26 August 2016 Listing effective 16 September 2016 Page 2 of 143 5.2.3 COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT ................................................................. 38 5.3 Research and monitoring priorities ................................................................................ 40 5.4 Offsets ............................................................................................................................ 42 5.5 Existing plans/management prescriptions relevant to the ecological community ......... 44 5.6 Recovery plan recommendation .................................................................................... 45 APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... 46 Appendix A – Species lists .................................................................................................. 46 Table A1: Listed threatened flora species that are likely to occur in the Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain ecological community. .................................. 46 Table A2: WA priority flora species that are likely to occur in the Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain ecological community. .................................. 48 Table A3: Listed threatened fauna species that are likely to occur in the Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain ecological community. .................................. 49 Table A4: WA priority fauna species that are likely to occur in the Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain ecological community. .................................. 50 Appendix B – Biology and ecological processes ................................................................. 51 B1. Ecology of ten common dominant trees in Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain ................................................................................................................................. 51 B2. Further relevant biology and ecology........................................................................ 62 B3. Aboriginal (Nyoongar) knowledge and seasons ....................................................... 64 Appendix C – Detailed description of national context ....................................................... 69 C1. Relationships to other vegetation classifications ...................................................... 69 C2. Detailed information on sub-communities ................................................................ 78 C3. Ramsar sites............................................................................................................... 85 C4. Other national context and existing protection ......................................................... 85 Appendix D – Detailed description of threats ...................................................................... 86 D1. Land clearing and impacts associated with fragmentation ....................................... 86 D2. Climate change (increasing temperatures, declining rainfall, rainfall timing) ......... 87 D3. Groundwater drawdown ............................................................................................ 88 D4. Altered fire regimes .................................................................................................. 91 D5. Plant pathogens (dieback) ......................................................................................... 93 D6. Invasive flora and fauna ............................................................................................ 93 D7. Other disturbances to patches ................................................................................... 94 D8. Key threatening processes ......................................................................................... 94 Conservation Advice approved 26 August 2016 Listing effective 16 September 2016 Page 3 of 143 Appendix E – Detailed assessment of eligibility for listing against the EPBC Act criteria 96 Criterion 1 – Decline in geographic distribution ............................................................