Romano’s Investment Holdings Flora and Vegetation Assessment Lot 54 and Lot 9001 Holden Close, Bertram January 2014 Romano’s Investment Holdings Flora and Vegetation Assessment Lot 54 and Lot 9001 Holden Close, Bertram January 2014 Report Reference No. ENAUPERT04366A_01_v2 Disclaimer This document is published in accordance with and subject to an agreement between Coffey and the client for whom it has been prepared, Romano’s Investment Holdings (‘Client’), and is restricted to those issues that have been raised by the client in its engagement of Coffey and prepared using the standard of skill and care ordinarily exercised by environmental scientists in the preparation of such documents. Any person or organisation that relies on or uses the document for purposes or reasons other than those agreed by Coffey and the Client without first obtaining the prior written consent of Coffey, does so entirely at their own risk and Coffey denies all liability in tort, contract or otherwise for any loss, damage or injury of any kind whatsoever (whether in negligence or otherwise) that may be suffered as a consequence of relying on this document for any purpose other than that agreed with the Client. © Coffey Environments Australia Pty Ltd ABN 65140765902. 21 January 2014. Suite 2, 53 Burswood Road Burswood WA 6100 Australia PO Box 4223 Victoria Park WA 6979 Australia t +61 8 9355 7100 f +61 8 9355 7111 coffey.com Library Reference No.: EP2013/211 Report Reference No.: ENAUPERT04366AA_01_V2 Project Director M. Scheltema Project Manager M. Johnston Record of Distribution Report Status: No. of Format Distributed to Date Authorised by copies V1 (draft) 1 PDF RPS 10/12/2013 M. Scheltema V2 (final) 1 PDF Romano’s Investment 21/12/2013 M. Scheltema Holdings (c/o RPS) 1 Hard Coffey Library Copy Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3 1.1 Background ......................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Scope of works ................................................................................................................... 3 2 Existing environment ................................................................................................................. 5 2.1 Location .............................................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Existing land use................................................................................................................. 5 2.3 Climate ................................................................................................................................ 5 2.4 Surface and groundwater hydrology................................................................................... 7 2.5 Wetlands ............................................................................................................................. 7 2.6 Geology and soils ............................................................................................................... 9 2.7 Acid sulfate soils ................................................................................................................. 9 2.8 Landforms and topography ................................................................................................. 9 2.9 Interim biogeographic regionalisation of Australia .............................................................. 9 2.10 Vegetation complexes ...................................................................................................... 10 2.11 Bush Forever .................................................................................................................... 10 2.12 Database searches ........................................................................................................... 11 3 Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 17 3.1 Field survey ...................................................................................................................... 17 3.2 Survey methodology ......................................................................................................... 17 3.3 Botanical survey limitations .............................................................................................. 21 4 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 23 4.1 Vegetation community types ............................................................................................ 23 4.2 Vegetation condition ......................................................................................................... 23 4.3 Significance of vegetation ................................................................................................. 25 4.3.1 Threatened and priority ecological communities ................................................. 25 4.3.2 Floristic community type ...................................................................................... 25 4.3.3 Vegetation complexes ......................................................................................... 25 4.3.4 Ecological corridor ............................................................................................... 26 4.4 Flora .................................................................................................................................. 26 4.5 Conservation significant flora ........................................................................................... 27 4.6 Introduced flora ................................................................................................................. 27 5 Discussion and environmental impacts ................................................................................. 31 5.1 Vegetation ......................................................................................................................... 31 5.2 Flora .................................................................................................................................. 31 5.3 Ten clearing principles ...................................................................................................... 32 6 Conclusion and recommendations ......................................................................................... 37 7 References ................................................................................................................................. 39 Coffey | ENAUPERT04366AA_01_v2.docx i Lot 54 and Lot 9001 Holden Close, Bertram | Flora and Vegetation Assessment Figures (in text) 1 Regional location .......................................................................................................................... 6 2 Environmentally sensitive areas ................................................................................................. 12 3 Vegetation community and condition mapping ........................................................................... 24 Tables (in text) 1 Geomorphic wetland classification types ...................................................................................... 8 2 Threatened and priority listed flora occurring in close proximity to the survey area .................. 13 3 Threatened and priority ecological communities located in close proximity to the survey area . 16 4 NVIS hierarchical structure ......................................................................................................... 18 5 Vegetation structural classes ...................................................................................................... 19 6 Vegetation condition rating scale ................................................................................................ 20 7 Botanical survey limitations ........................................................................................................ 21 8 Floristic community type resemblance ........................................................................................ 25 9 Dominant families recorded from the survey area ...................................................................... 26 10 Dominant genera recorded from the survey area ....................................................................... 27 11 Legal status and environmental weed rating for the introduced flora taxa recorded from the study area ................................................................................................................................... 29 12 Assessment of clearing native vegetation against the ten clearing principles............................ 33 Charts (in text) 1 Monthly Climatic Observations for the Medina Research Station ................................................ 7 Appendices A Definition of State and Federal Conservation Codes B Floristic quadrat data collected C Spring flora list Coffey | ENAUPERT04366AA_01_v2.docx ii Lot 54 and Lot 9001 Holden Close, Bertram | Flora and Vegetation Assessment 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Romano’s Investment Holdings (Romano’s) is investigating the subdivision of 65 (Lot 54 and Lot 9001) Holden Close,