The Native Vegetation of Boorowa Shire June 2002 NSW NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE © NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, 2002. This work is copyright, however material presented in this Plan may be copied for personal use or published for educational purposes, providing that any extracts are fully acknowledged. Apart from this and any other use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced without prior written permission from NPWS. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, 43 Bridge Street, (PO Box 1967) Hurstville NSW 2220 Tel: 02 95856444 www.npws.nsw.gov.au Cover photographs Upper: Blakelys Red Gum – Yellw Box Grassy Woodland at Godfreys Creek TSR, Lachlan Valley Way (Photographer – S. Priday) Lower: Paddock trees on the South West Slopes (Photographer – B. Wrigley) This report should be cited as follows: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (2002) The Native Vegetation of Boorowa Shire. NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, Hurstville NSW. Acknowledgements The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service gratefully acknowledges the assistance of staff at Boorowa Shire Council, particularly Jody Robinson and Colin Owers. We would also like to thank the following landholders for their hospitality and for access to their properties: Alan and Jo Coles of “Currawidgee”, Steve Boyd of “Narra-Allen”, Dan and Vicki Carey of “Ballyhooley”, Judith Refshauge of “Midlands”, Tim and Dave Hewlett of “Blackburn”, Ros and Chris Daley of “Gentle Destiny”, John Anderson, Jeff Southwell of “Crystal Springs”, Doug Dockery of “Balloch”, Bruce McKenzie of “Tarengo”, Roger Clarke of “Hillrose”, Mrs Halley of “Mount Snowden”, Mr Coble of “Forestdene” and Adrian Davey of “Kurrajong”. David Marsh of “Allendale”, Ray Bush of “Back Creek” and Libby Elliott from Boorowa Landcare also provided valuable assistance. Brian Furby generously allowed the image of the Brown Treecreeper to be used in this report. i Contents Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................i Summary........................................................................................................................v 1 Native Vegetation of Boorowa Shire ......................................................................1 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................1 1.2 Report Structure................................................................................................1 1.3 The Native Vegetation of Boorowa Shire ........................................................2 1.4 Vegetation of Boorowa Shire ...........................................................................5 1.4.1. Vegetation Communities within Boroowa Shire………………………..5 River Red Gum Forest………...…………………...…………………..5 River Oak Riparian Forest………………………………………...…...7 Blakelys Red Gum – Yellow Box Woodland………………….…...…7 Kangaroo Grass/Red Leg Grass Grassland/Open Woodland…….…....7 White Box Woodland……………………………………………...…..8 Red Stringybark – Long Leaved Box Open Forest/Woodland………..8 Red Stringybark Dry Shrub Forest…………………………………….9 Black Cypress Pine – Red Stringybark – Red Box Open Forest……....9 Red Stringybark – Joycea GrassTussock Open Forest………………..9 1.4.2 Ecosystem Functionality……………………………………………..…9 1.5 Environmental Weeds.....................................................................................11 2 Conservation Value and Management of Roadside Vegetation............................13 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................13 2.2 Roadside Conservation Values.......................................................................14 2.2.1 High Conservation Value Roadsides .......................................................14 2.2.2 Medium Conservation Value Roadsides..................................................14 2.2.3 Low Conservation Value Roadsides........................................................14 ii 2.3 Implications for Boorowa Shire Council........................................................16 2.3.1 Road Construction and Maintenance.......................................................16 2.3.2 Stockpile and Compound Sites ................................................................18 2.3.3 Table Drain and Mitre Drain Maintenance..............................................18 2.3.4 Replanting Native Vegetation..................................................................19 2.3.5 Firewood Removal……………………………………………………...20 3 Other Areas of Conservation Significance on Public Lands.................................21 3.1 Travelling Stock Reserves ..............................................................................21 3.2 Cemeteries ......................................................................................................26 3.3 Other Crown Lands.........................................................................................26 3.4 Private Property ..............................................................................................27 3.5 Local Environment Plans (Local Government)..............................................28 4 Threatened Species and Endangered Ecological Communities ............................32 4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................32 4.2 Legislative Framework ...................................................................................32 4.2.1 Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 ............................................32 4.3 Endangered Ecological Communities ............................................................32 4.4 Threatened Flora.............................................................................................33 4.4.1 Tarengo Leek Orchid (Prasophyllum petilum)........................................33 4.4.2 Yass Daisy (Ammobium craspedioides)..................................................33 4.5 Threatened Fauna............................................................................................35 4.5.1 Bush Stone Curlew (Burhinus gralarius) .................................................35 4.5.2 Superb Parrot (Polytelis swainsonii)........................................................35 4.5.3 Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor).............................................................36 4.5.4 Barking Owl (Ninox connivens)..............................................................36 4.5.5 Speckled Warbler (Cthonichola saggitata) ..............................................37 4.5.6 Hooded Robin (Melanodryas cuculatus) .................................................37 4.5.7 Black-chinned Honeyeater (Melithreptis brevisrostis) ............................38 4.5.8 Painted Honeyeater (Grantiella picta)......................................................38 4.5.9 Regent Honeyeater (Xanthomyza phrygia)..............................................38 4.5.10 Grey-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis)................................39 iii 4.5.11 Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus victoriae).............................39 4.5.12 Diamond Firetail (Stagonopleura guttata)................................................40 4.5.13 Squirrel Glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) ...................................................41 4.5.14 Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) ................................................................41 4.2.15 Large-footed Myotis (Myotis adversus)………………………………...41 4.5.16 Golden Sun Moth (Synemon plana) ........................................................42 4.5.17 Perunga Grasshopper (Perunga ochracea) ...............................................43 4.6 Threatened Species Management in Boorowa Shire......................................43 5 References .............................................................................................................45 6 Appendix 1 – Plant Species as Recorded in Vegetation Type ..............................47 iv Summary The distribution of vegetation in Boorowa Shire strongly relates to soil type, geology, and position in the landscape (ie valley floor or ridge top). Three broad plant communities occur: riparian forests; grassy woodlands and dry forests. Riparian forests of Red Gum or She Oak occur along the rivers and major creeks. Woodland communities, dominated by Blakelys Red Gum and Yellow Box, occur along most creek lines and lower slopes. A Red Stringy-bark – Long Leaved Box forest occurs on sedimentary rocks on the lower slopes in the South-east of the Shire. White Box woodlands with a grassy understorey formerly occupied most of the undulating slopes in the Shire, while a grassland/open woodland occupied much of the broad basin centred on Boroowa. Ridge-lines and upper slopes support dry forest in which Red Stringy-bark is always a dominate species. Eight-five percent of the shire’s native vegetation has been cleared. Most of the remaining large blocks of vegetation are dry forests on rocky ridgelines unsuitable for agriculture. Isolated paddock trees and small patches of less than 2ha (200m x 100m), provide the majority of remaining woodland cover. The vegetation of Boorowa is highly fragmented and dysfunctional. The remaining remnants are under considerable stress from increased salinity, over fertilisation, grazing, herbicide drift and soil compaction. Given the extent of clearance it is not surprising that many threatened plant and animal