Descriptions for NSW (Mitchell) Landscapes Version 2 (2002) Based on descriptions compiled by Dr. Peter Mitchell. Visit us on the web: www.environment.nsw.gov.au Disclaimer The descriptions in this document apply to the NSW (Mitchell) Landscapes version 2, compiled in 2002 by Dr. Peter Mitchell under contract to the (then) NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Since the original mapping of NSW Landscapes in 2002, several more fine scale data layers have been made available, including SPOT 5 satellite imagery, NSW wetlands, contours and improved drainage layers. The availability of these finer scale data layers highlighted spatial inconsistencies in the NSW Landscapes data layer, identifying areas where shifts in data have occurred, or where the original digitising did not capture the intricacies of the underlying environment. In response, in 2008 the Department of Conservation and Climate Change (DECC) undertook a review of the bounds of the NSW Landscapes. The analysis undertaken originally identified a range of errors and inaccuracies with the bounds of the NSW Landscapes data layer, predominantly in the eastern half of the State, including: • shifts in the Landscape polygons; • problematic outliers in the Landscape layers; • overlaps and gaps along Landscape boundaries; • inconsistencies in the delineation of some Landscapes. Correction of these errors was undertaken by Eco Logical Australia under contract to DECC. Correction of the NSW Landscapes layer was confined to fixing boundary errors, and no attempt has been made to redefine the landscape classes, or their descriptions. The review has resulted in a new version - version 3 - of the NSW landscapes layer being compiled and made available. While the great majority of landscape descriptions have not been affected, a small number of the landscape descriptions may no longer be entirely accurate if interpreted against the spatial data provided for version 3. Details of the original and update methodologies are available in the following documents: Mitchell, P.B. (unpub). NSW ecosystems study: background and methodology. Unpublished report to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hurstville. Eco Logical Australia, (2008). Editing Mitchell Landscapes, Final Report. A Report prepared for the Department of Environment and Climate Change. Table Of Contents AA - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Australian Alps Bioregion ....................................... 4 BBS - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Brigalow Belt South Bioregion .............................. 9 BHC - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Broken Hill Complex Bioregion.......................... 16 CHC - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Channel Country Bioregion................................. 24 CP - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Cobar Peneplain Bioregion..................................... 28 DRP - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Darling Riverine Plains Bioregion....................... 44 MDD - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Murray Darling Depression Bioregion............... 59 MUL - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Mulga Lands Bioregion ...................................... 67 NAN - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Nandewar Bioregion ........................................... 73 NET - Descriptions for Landscapes in the New England Tablelands Bioregion .................... 78 NNC - Descriptions for Landscapes in the NSW North Coast Bioregion............................... 82 NSS - Descriptions for Landscapes in the NSW South West Slopes Bioregion..................... 89 RIV - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Riverina Bioregion.............................................. 101 SB - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Sydney Basin Bioregion ....................................... 106 SEC - Descriptions for Landscapes in the South East Corner Bioregion.............................. 125 SEH - Descriptions for Landscapes in the South East Highlands Bioregion ........................ 131 SEQ - Descriptions for Landscapes in the South East Queensland Bioregion...................... 144 SSD - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Simpson Strzelecki Bioregion ............................ 148 Descriptions of Mitchell Landscapes AA - Descriptions for Landscapes in the Australian Alps Bioregion Meso: AA Alpine Azo Alpine Zone AA Alpine High plateau and block faulted ranges on Silurian-Devonian gneissic granite and granites, with a linear unit of Ordovician greywacke, phyllite and schist above the tree line at 1800m. Mountain peaks, scree slopes and tor covered rounded hills stand above the plateau, local relief 450m. Relic Pleistocene cirque glacier landforms and glacial lakes, block streams and periglacial solifluction lobes. Wet, uniform textured alpine humus soils and peat with abundant organic matter, steep slopes have stonier, shallow profiles. Tussock grasslands, alpine herb field, rare feldmark, snow patch communities, valley and raised bogs, all with high endemism. Common species include; prickly snow grass ( Poa costiniana ), alpine wallaby grass ( Danthonia nudiflora ), ribbony grass ( Chionochloa frigida ), silver snow daisy ( Celmisia asteliifolia ), alpine sunray ( Leuchrysum albicans ), mountain celery (Aciphylla glacialis) , mountain plum pine ( Podocarpus lawrencei ), mountain gentian (Gentianella diemensis ), white purslane ( Neopaxia australasica ), coral heath ( Epacris gunnii ), carpet heath ( Pentachondra pumila ), eye-bright ( Euphrasia collina ), sky lily (Herpolirion novae-zelandiae ), alpine rice-flower ( Pimelea alpina ), yellow kunzea ( Kunzea muelleri ), silver ewartia ( Ewartia nubigena ), felted buttercup ( Ranunculus muelleri ), anemone buttercup ( Ranunculus anemoneus ), sphagnum ( Sphagnum cristatum ), alpine bog- rush ( Schoenus calyptratus ), and sedges ( Carex spp). Bos Bogong Sub-alpine AA Alpine Peaks above the Bogong montane plateau and ridges on Devonian gneiss and massive granite, granodiorite and diorite below the tree line with general elevation from 1300 to 1600m. Tor covered rounded hills, rocky slopes and valley swamps developed in the dendritic drainage network, local relief 300m. Uniform textured alpine humus and transitional alpine humus soils and peat with abundant organic matter, steep slopes have stonier profiles over deeply weathered bedrock. The boundary with montane communities is found at different levels on different aspects. Open to dense sub-alpine woodlands of snow gum ( Eucalyptus pauciflora ) with patchy open grasslands, fen, heath and bogs in the valleys controlled by cold air drainage and soil moisture. Black sallee ( Eucalyptus stellulata ) marginal to streams. Typical shrubs and ground cover species include; snow grasses ( Poa spp.), wallaby grasses ( Austrodanthonia and Danthonia spp.), silver snow daisy ( Celmisia asteliifolia ), alpine orites ( Orites lancifolia ), alpine hovea ( Hovea montana ), mountain shaggy-pea ( Oxylobium alpestre ), alpine rice-flower ( Pimelea alpina ), speedwell ( Veronica serpyllifolia ), scaly everlasting (Ozothamnus hookeri ), Tasman flax-lily ( Dianella tasmanica ), mountain gentian ( Gentianella diemensis) , variable groundsel ( Senecio lautus ), and native dandelion ( Microseris lanceolata ). Cbs Cabramurra - Kiandra Basalt Caps and Sands AA Alpine Extensively distributed Tertiary basalt flow remnants capping hills on the high plains. Fluvial quartz gravels, sands and silts of former river channels are exposed beneath the basalt. Soil materials and sediments from the basalt and quartz sands extend down slope over Ordovician Page 4 meta-sediments or Silurian-Devonian granites toward the alpine valleys. Most basalt outcrops are columnar jointed and formed periglacial block streams during the Pleistocene. General elevation 1400 to 1650, local relief to 200m. Uniform and gradational, organic rich, brown clay loams, often stony. This ecosystem extends to lower elevations in the South Eastern Highlands biogeographical region where soils are deeper and redder, and the vegetation reflects adjacent communities. Open sub-alpine woodlands of snow gum ( Eucalyptus pauciflora ) on the hills with extensive open grasslands, heath and bogs in the valleys. Black sallee ( Eucalyptus stellulata ) along streamlines on the valley floors. Associated shrubs and ground cover include; leafy bossiae (Bossiaea foliosa ), alpine oxylobium ( Oxylobium alpestre ), alpine daisy bush ( Olearia algida ), candle heath ( Richea continentis ), alpine baeckea ( Baeckea gunniana ), long-leaf hovea ( Hovea longifolia ), alpine phebalium ( Leionema phylicicfolium ), alpine orites ( Orites lancifolia ), alpine hovea ( Hovea montana) , mountain shaggy-pea ( Oxylobium alpestre) , snow grasses ( Poa spp.), sedges ( Carex spp.) and sphagnum ( Sphagnum cristatum ). Chs Chimneys Ridge Sub-alpine AA Alpine High plateau and block faulted ranges on Silurian-Devonian gneissic granite and granites, and areas of Devonian rhyolite below the tree line with general elevation from 1500 to 1800m. Peaks and tor covered rounded hills stand above the plateau, valley swamps developed in the dendritic drainage network, local relief 300m. Limited areas of Pleistocene block streams and slope deposits. Uniform textured alpine humus and transitional alpine humus soils and peat with abundant organic matter, steep slopes have stonier profiles over deeply weathered bedrock. Open to dense sub-alpine woodlands of snow gum ( Eucalyptus pauciflora ) with open grasslands, fen, heath and bogs in the valleys controlled by cold air drainage and soil moisture. Black