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Public Consultation Guide for Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet

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Public Consultation Guide for Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet Tropics Bioregion NOMINATED AS A NATIONAL THREATENED ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY CONSULTATION GUIDE Note to Traditional Owners: This guide is supplemented by the ‘Australian Government information for Traditional Owners about Lowland Rainforest’ consultation guide, available at https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/nominations/comment/lowland-tropical-rainforest-wet- tropics-bioregion The Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet Tropics Bioregion ecological community was nominated in 2017 and is undergoing an assessment by the independent Threatened Species Scientific Committee to determine if it meets the criteria for listing as nationally threatened under national environment law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet Tropics Bioregion includes the plants, animals and other organisms typically associated with a type of lowland tropical rainforest that is found in the Wet Tropics of North Queensland. The ecological community is a structurally complex, evergreen tall forest with a relatively high species diversity (compared with other Australian rainforests), a predominance of large-leaved (mesophyll, leaf surface area 20 - 182 cm2) tree species, and a high representation of plant species from the families Myrtaceae (especially Syzygium) and Lauraceae. Vines and lianas, and epiphytes, are relatively common, and in an Australian context, so are herbaceous ground layer plant species. The ecological community also includes lowland mesophyll vine forests with Archontophoenix alexandrae (Feather Palm Alexander Palm) and/or Licuala ramsayi var. ramsayi (Fan Palm), typically occurring on poorly drained alluvial plains. Lowland Tropical Rainforest in Broadwater State Forest, QLD. © Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. 1 Consultation details Comments are sought on the draft Conservation Advice and the Committee’s assessment of the Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet Tropics Bioregion as potentially endangered to critically endangered. Comments close on 19 May 2021. About the assessment The national environment law defines an ecological community as an assemblage of native species that inhabits a particular area in nature within Australia. Ecological communities may also take condition into account and exclude highly degraded areas from listings. An ecological community can be eligible for listing as threatened if it is shown to be at risk of extinction in the wild, in accordance with prescribed criteria. The simplest form of extinction is when an ecological community has been totally destroyed and all occurrences have been lost or removed. However, it is more common for ecological communities to become extinct by transformation over time rather than complete loss – becoming different communities with different characteristic species. The criteria used to determine the level of risk for an ecological community are set out in the EPBC Regulations. There are six criteria, each representing a different type of extinction risk. An ecological community is considered threatened if it meets the thresholds under any of the six criteria, it does not need to be threatened under all of them. The overall threat category is determined by the highest threat category met - vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. Ecological communities listed as either Critically Endangered or Endangered are protected under the national environment law for future generations. The decision to list an ecological community as nationally threatened is made by the Australian Government environment Minister. It follows a rigorous and transparent assessment by the Department and Threatened Species Scientific Committee, in the form of a Conservation Advice to the Minister. When an ecological community is approved for listing by the Minister, the Conservation Advice is published. This describes the ecological community, outlines the threats and why it meets listing criteria, and provides guidance on priority research and recovery actions that could be undertaken to help conserve it. An approved conservation advice for this ecological community would provide advice to help manage threats to biodiversity values in the region at a landscape scale, supplementing conservation measures for other matters of environmental significance already in the region, such as threatened species, migratory birds and Ramsar sites. About the Lowland Tropical Rainforest The Lowland Tropical Rainforest occurs in the Wet Tropics bioregion of north Queensland, from around Ingham (just south of the Cardwell Range) in the south to north of Cape Tribulation. These areas have retained stable lowland rainforests during historical climate fluctuations. The distribution of the ecological community coincides with three main subregions: Herbert (Herbert River valley), Tully (Tully and Murray River valleys), and Innisfail (Valleys of the Barron, Mulgrave, Russell and Johnstone rivers, and Liverpool Creek). There are also minor areas in the Daintree-Bloomfield (Bloomfield, Daintree, Mossman River valleys and associated ranges and tablelands) and Macalister subregions (Macalister Range). An indicative distribution map is available on the public consultation webpage at: https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/nominations/comment/lowland-tropical-rainforest-wet- tropics-bioregion Lowland Tropical Rainforest, compared with other rainforest types in the region (e.g. littoral rainforest and upland rainforest), is generally recognisable in its canopy features, including being highly irregular, much more open (e.g. in its long-undisturbed state), and containing large fig trees. Variation in rainforest structure type (e.g. component Regional Ecosystems) can be broadly correlated with rainfall patterns associated with the height and orientation of the adjoining mountain ranges, soil drainage and soil nutrient availability. Due to the stability of the ecological community over time, patches can be important long-term fauna refuges and sites of speciation. The ecological community provides critical feeding and breeding habitat for Casuaris casuaris (Southern Cassowary), Alectura lathami (Australian Brush Turkey), and numerous migratory bird species. Seed dispersal is undertaken by species such as Pteropus conspicillatus (Spectacled Flying-Fox), the Southern Cassowary and Uromys caudimaculatus (Giant White-Tailed Rat). In addition, both known species of tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus and D. lumholtzi) occur in the ecological community, their distributions separated by the Daintree River. 2 Historically, the area has been extensively cleared for land uses including timber harvesting, mining, agriculture (e.g sugarcane and grazing country), and rural-residential development and associated infrastructure. Cyclones occur in the region and are a natural disturbance but can cause additional damage to the ecological community because the fragmented landscape can cause more severe wind damage. Climate change is also predicted to impact the ecological community with the capacity of flora and fauna species to adapt to changes in temperature and rainfall uncertain. Some parts of the ecological community are palm-dominated, particularly in poorly drained areas, such as the Fan Palm (Licuala ramsayi var. ramsayi) forest in the Daintree region, shown here. © Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. How is the Lowland Tropical Rainforest ecological community identified? The ecological community can be identified by the following features (refer to the draft Conservation Advice for full details): Landscape • Lowland Tropical Rainforest is restricted to the Wet Tropics Bioregion (Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia, IBRA V7, DoE 2012), with approximate limits around Ingham in the south and north of Cape Tribulation in the north. • It occurs principally on fertile soils, which may be derived from alluvium, basalt, metamorphic and granite substrates (more likely on colluvial material in the latter two scenarios). • The climate over most of the extent can be described as aseasonal, with rainfall expected throughout the year. The ecological community typically occurs in areas with high annual rainfall (>1300 mm to > 3500 mm per annum). • The ecological community is typically confined between sea-level and 80-100m above sea level (asl) in most occurrences, with the core former distribution being predominantly between 0 – 40m asl. However, it can also be found up to approximately 300-350m asl where substrate and other conditions support the ecological community, for example on fertile basaltic lava flows in the East Palmerston and Mena Creek areas west of Innisfail. 3 Vegetation • Trees of Lowland Tropical Rainforest are typically tall (at least 25 m), with well-developed buttresses, evergreen (rarely semi-deciduous) and with mesophyll leaves (surface area 20 - 182 cm2) being the most common leaf or leaflet size. Epiphytes of all sizes are found on tree trunks and branches. Vines are typically common. A well-developed sub-canopy tree layer is usually present as well as a sparse shrub/sapling layer, indicating a seedling bank. Ground herbs and ferns are common to uncommon, but grasses are rare. Palms are common in damp soils, and otherwise scattered through the forest. • The palm-dominated rainforests are distinctive structural sub-types of the ecological community, with a conspicuous and significant proportion of the upper strata (canopy
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