JANUARY 2017 AGRIMIN MACKAY PROJECT LEVEL 1 FAUNA AND SINGLE PHASE LEVEL 2 FLORA ASSESSMENT This page has been left blank intentionally. Mackay Project Level 1 Fauna and Single-phase Level 2 Flora and Vegetation Assessment Document Status Approved for Issue Rev. Author(s) Reviewer Date Name Distributed To Date 0 A. Craigie, T. Moyle S. Grein 23/12/2016 S. Grein M. Savich 23/12/2016 1 A. Craigie, S.Grein S. Grein 23/01/2017 S. Grein M. Savich 23/01/2017 ecologia Environment (2017). Reproduction of this report in whole or in part by electronic, mechanical or chemical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, in any language, is strictly prohibited without the express approval of Agrimin ecologia Environment 45 Gladstone Street East Perth WA 6004 Phone: 08 6168 7200 Email: [email protected] January 2017 i Mackay Project Level 1 Fauna and Single-phase Level 2 Flora and Vegetation Assessment This page has been left blank intentionally. January 2017 ii Mackay Project Level 1 Fauna and Single-phase Level 2 Flora and Vegetation Assessment TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................................... 1 1.3 SURVEY OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................................. 6 2 EXISTING ENVIRONMENT .................................................................................................. 8 2.1 CLIMATE .................................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 BIOGEOGRAPHIC REGION ......................................................................................................... 9 2.3 GEOLOGY AND LANDFORMS...................................................................................................11 2.4 SOILS .......................................................................................................................................13 2.5 REGIONAL VEGETATION ..........................................................................................................15 2.6 PREVIOUS SURVEYS AT THE STUDY AREA ...............................................................................15 3 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................. 20 3.1 DATABASE SEARCHES ..............................................................................................................20 3.2 POTENTIAL CONSERVATION SIGNIFICANT VERTEBRATE FAUNA ............................................25 3.3 FLORA AND VEGETATION ........................................................................................................27 3.4 FIELD ASSESSMENT – LEVEL 1 FAUNA SURVEYS .....................................................................33 3.5 FAUNA HABITAT MAPPING .....................................................................................................34 3.6 STUDY TEAM AND LICENCES ...................................................................................................35 3.7 ANIMAL ETHICS .......................................................................................................................35 4 DATABASE RESULTS ........................................................................................................ 37 4.1 SIGNIFICANT FLORA RECORDS FROM DATABASE SEARCHES .................................................37 4.2 INTRODUCED FLORA RECORDS FROM DATABASE SEARCHES ................................................37 4.3 SIGNIFICANT VEGETATION COMMUNITY RECORDS FROM DATABASE SEARCHES ................37 4.4 INTRODUCED FLORA RECORDS FROM DATABASE SEARCHES ................................................37 4.5 SIGNIFICANT VEGETATION COMMUNITY RECORDS FROM DATABASE SEARCHES ................37 4.6 FAUNA RECORDS FROM PREVIOUS SURVEYS AND DATABASE SEARCHES .............................40 5 RESULTS .......................................................................................................................... 41 5.1 FLORA ......................................................................................................................................41 5.2 CONSERVATION SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT - FLORA ...........................................................53 5.3 VEGETATION ...........................................................................................................................54 5.4 CONSERVATION SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT - VEGETATION ................................................59 5.5 FAUNA .................................................................................................................................. 105 5.6 FAUNA HABITATS ................................................................................................................. 105 January 2017 iii Mackay Project Level 1 Fauna and Single-phase Level 2 Flora and Vegetation Assessment 5.7 FAUNA ASSEMBLAGES ......................................................................................................... 108 5.8 FLORA SURVEY LIMITATIONS AND CONSTRAINTS ............................................................... 112 5.9 FAUNA SURVEY LIMITATIONS AND CONSTRAINTS .............................................................. 113 6 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................. 115 6.1 FLORA ................................................................................................................................... 115 6.3 FAUNA .................................................................................................................................. 118 7 CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................. 125 7.1 FLORA AND VEGETATION ..................................................................................................... 125 7.2 FAUNA .................................................................................................................................. 125 9 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 127 January 2017 iv Mackay Project Level 1 Fauna and Single-phase Level 2 Flora and Vegetation Assessment TABLES Table 2-1 – Geology at the study area ...................................................................................................11 Table 2-2 – Soils at the study area .........................................................................................................13 Table 2-3 – Shepherd and Beard vegetation at the study area .............................................................15 Table 2-4 – Flora, vegetation and fauna surveys conducted in the vicinity of the study area ..............17 Table 2-5 – Lake Mackay (Theseus Project) vegetation communities (Outback Ecology 2012a) ..........18 Table 2-6 – Lake Mackay (Theseus Project) fauna habitat (Outback Ecology 2012b) ...........................18 Table 3-1 – Criteria used to assess likelihood of occurrence of significant flora ...................................22 Table 3-2 – Control categories for Declared Pests .................................................................................24 Table 3-3 – Fauna likelihood of occurrence categories ..........................................................................26 Table 3-4 – Vegetation condition scale (Trudgen 1991) ........................................................................31 Table 3-5 – Habitat condition assessment .............................................................................................35 Table 3-6 – Study team and licences ......................................................................................................35 Table 4-1 – Significant flora records from database and desktop searches and likelihood of occurrence .........................................................................................................................38 Table 4-2 – Previous fauna records ........................................................................................................40 Table 4-3 – Significant species recorded from the database searches ..................................................40 Table 5-1 –Floristic summary for the study area ...................................................................................41 Table 5-2 – Most diverse families and genera at the study area ...........................................................41 Table 5-3 – Priority Flora recorded during the survey ...........................................................................44 Table 5-4 – Records representing bioregional range extensions ...........................................................48 Table 5-5 – Records representing significant range extensions (> approx. 100 km) .............................49 Table 5-6 – Locations of Introduced Flora (WGS84 UTM Zone 52) ........................................................51 Table 5-7 – DPaW environmental risk assessment status .....................................................................51