This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 3/07/2008. Approved Conservation Advice (s266B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) Approved Conservation Advice for Gentiana bredboensis This Conservation Advice has been developed based on the best available information at the time this conservation advice was approved. Description Gentiana bredboensis, Family Gentianaceae, also known as the Bredbo Gentian (DECC, 2005a & 2005b), is an annual or possibly a biennial herb growing to 2–9 cm tall with many branched stems. Its basal leaves are in 3–6 pairs and broadly ovate, 8–20 mm long and 8– 12 mm wide. The upper leaves are in 3–6 pairs and gradually become smaller and thicker up the stem, 6–15 mm long and 5–8 mm wide. There are 1–6 flowers per plant and they are pinkish on the outside and white inside. The capsule is oblong-ovoid, 5–6 mm long on a stalk up to 2.5 mm long (Adams & Williams, 1988; Harden, 1992; Adams, 1996). Conservation Status Gentiana bredboensis is listed as vulnerable. This species is eligible for listing as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) (EPBC Act) as, prior to the commencement of the EPBC Act, it was listed as vulnerable under Schedule 1 of the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 (Cwlth). It is also listed as endangered under schedule 1 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW). Distribution and Habitat Gentiana bredboensis is known only from a single population of fewer than 200 plants in a very restricted area on private grazing land near Jerangle, east of Bredbo, NSW. It grows along margins of seepage areas in short herbfields among Tea Tree (Baeckea species and Leptospermum species) and in stock pastures in granitic sandy soil (Adams & Williams, 1988; Harden, 1992; DECC, 2005a). This species occurs within the Murrumbidgee (NSW) Natural Resource Management Region. No populations are known to occur within a conservation area, with the single known population occurring on private property. A nearby subpopulation on an adjacent property has disappeared in recent years (DECC, 2008). The distribution of this species overlaps with the following EPBC Act-listed threatened ecological communities: • White Box-Yellow Box-Blakely’s Red Gum Grassy Woodland and Derived Native Grassland, and • Natural Temperate Grassland of the Southern Tablelands of NSW and the Australian Capital Territory. Threats The main identified threats to Gentiana bredboensis include trampling by stock; habitat destruction by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) (DECC, 2005b); habitat clearing; fertiliser use; and sowing of exotic pasture species (DECC, 2008). The main potential threats to Gentiana bredboensis include frequent fires (ACTCE, 2004) and changes in hydrology, as it grows in periodically waterlogged areas (DECC, 2005a). Gentiana bredboensis Conservation Advice - Page 1 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 3/07/2008. Research Priorities Research priorities that would inform future regional and local priority actions include: • Design and implement a monitoring program. • More precisely assess population size, distribution, ecological requirements and the relative impacts of threatening processes. • Undertake survey work in suitable habitat and potential habitat to locate any additional populations/occurrences/remnants. • Undertake seed germination and/or vegetative propagation trials to determine the requirements for successful establishment. Regional and Local Priority Actions The following priority recovery and threat abatement actions can be done to support the recovery of Gentiana bredboensis. Habitat Loss, Disturbance and Modification • Monitor the known population to identify key threats. • Monitor the progress of recovery, including the effectiveness of management actions and the need to adapt them if necessary. • Undertake survey work in suitable habitat and potential habitat to locate any additional populations/occurrences/remnants. • Suitably control and manage access on private land. • Minimise adverse impacts from land use at known sites. • Manage any disruptions to water flows. • Control/minimise/reduce fertiliser use. • Appropriately manage the sowing of exotic pasture species that could impact Gentiana bredboensis. • Ensure maintenance activities (or other infrastructure or development activities as appropriate) in areas where Gentiana bredboensis occurs do not adversely impact on known populations. • Manage any changes to hydrology that may result in changes to the water table levels, increased run-off, sedimentation or pollution. • Manage any disruptions to water flows. • Investigate formal conservation arrangements such as the use of covenants, conservation agreements or inclusion in reserve tenure. Trampling, Browsing or Grazing • Implement a management plan for the control and eradication of feral pigs. • Manage known sites on private property to ensure appropriate stock grazing regimes are conducted to allow regeneration from seedlings. • Prevent grazing pressure at known sites on leased crown land through exclusion fencing or other barriers. Fire • Develop and implement a suitable fire management strategy for G. bredboensis with fire intervals of no more than once every six years (ACTCE, 2004). • Identify appropriate intensity and interval of fire to promote seed germination and/or vegetation regeneration. • Provide maps of known location to local and state rural fire services and seek inclusion of mitigative measures in bush fire risk management plans, risk register and/or operation maps. Gentiana bredboensis Conservation Advice - Page 2 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 3/07/2008. Conservation Information • Raise awareness of Gentiana bredboensis within the local community, particularly among landholders. Enable Recovery of Additional Sites and/or Populations • Undertake appropriate seed collection and storage. • Investigate options for linking, enhancing or establishing additional populations. • Implement national translocation protocols (Vallee et al., 2004) if establishing additional populations is considered necessary and feasible. • Determine if other similar pockets of the appropriate type of habitat on the specific soils exist elsewhere in the Bredbo river catchment. This list does not necessarily encompass all actions that may be of benefit to G. bredboensis, but highlights those that are considered to be of highest priority at the time of preparing the conservation advice. Existing Plans/Management Prescriptions that are Relevant to the Species • Fire management in threatened ecological communities and threatened species (ACTCE, 2004), • NSW Priority Action Statement for Bredbo Gentian (DECC, 2005b), and • Threat Abatement Plan for Competition and Land Degradation by Feral Pigs (DEH, 2005). These prescriptions were current at the time of publishing; please refer to the relevant agency’s website for any updated versions. Information Sources: ACT Commissioner for the Environment (ACTCE) 2004, State of the Environment Report, Fire management in threatened ecological communities and threatened species, viewed 4 March 2008, <http://www.environmentcommissioner.act.gov.au/soe/SoE2004/Region/Tech/firemanage.htm#table2> Adams, LG 1996, ‘Gentianaceae’, Flora of Australia, ed. AE Orchard, CSIRO Australia, Melbourne, vol. 28, pp. 72-104. Adams, LG & Williams, JB 1988, ‘Gentiana sect. Chrondrophyllae (Gentianaceae) in Australia’, Telopea vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 167-176. Department or Environment & Climate Change New South Wales (DECC) 2005a, Bredbo Gentian – Profile, viewed 27 February 2008, <http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/profile.aspx?id=10346> Department or Environment & Climate Change New South Wales (DECC) 2005b, Bredbo Gentian – Priority actions, viewed 27 February 2008, <http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/pas_profile.aspx?id=10346> Department of Environment and Climate Change New South Wales (DECC) 2008, Gentiana bredboensis - endangered species listing, viewed 27 February 2008, <http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/determinations/GentianaBredboensisEndSpListing.htm> Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH) 2005, Threat abatement plan for the predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs, viewed 4 March 2008, <http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/tap/pig/pubs/feral-pig-tap.pdf> Harden, GJ 1992, ‘Gentianaceae’, Flora of New South Wales, ed. GJ Harden, University of NSW Press, Kensington, NSW vol. 3, pp. 508-512. Vallee, L, Hogbin, T, Monks, L, Makinson, B, Matthes, M & Rossetto, M 2004, Guidelines for the Translocation of Threatened Plants in Australia - Second Edition, Australian Network for Plant Conservation, Canberra. Gentiana bredboensis Conservation Advice - Page 3 of 3 .