Flood Plain Lower Ringarooma River Ramsar Site Ecological Character Description March 2012 Citation: Newall, P.R. and Lloyd, L.N. 2012. Ecological Character Description for the Flood Plain Lower Ringarooma River Ramsar Site. Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd Report (Project No: LE0944) to the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC), Australian Government. Lloyd Environmental, Syndal, Victoria, 2nd March 2012. Copyright © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia, 2012. The Ecological Character Description for the Flood Plain Lower Ringarooma River Ramsar site is licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia for use under a Creative Commons By Attribution 3.0 Australia licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, the logo of the agency responsible for publishing the report, content supplied by third parties, and any images depicting people. For licence conditions see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/ This report should be attributed as ‘Ecological Character Description for the Flood Plain Lower Ringarooma River Ramsar site, Commonwealth of Australia 2012’. The Commonwealth of Australia has made all reasonable efforts to identify content supplied by third parties using the following format ‘© Copyright, [name of third party] ’. Acknowledgements: • Chris Bobbi, Senior Water Environment Officer, Water Assessment Branch, Water Resources Division, Department of Primary Industries and Water (DPIW) • Sally Bryant, Manager Threatened Species Section, Biodiversity Conservation Branch, DPIW • Jenny Davis, Associate Professor, School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, Western Australia • Louise Gilfedder, (Senior Conservation Scientist), Private Land Conservation Program, DPIW • Kath Jerie, Earth Science Section, Resource Management and Conservation Division, DPIW • Bronwen Wicks, Wetlands Section, SEWPaC • Anya Lam, Wetlands Section, SEWPaC • Ken Morgan, Wetlands Section, SEWPaC • John Pemberton, Senior Geologist, Industrial Minerals and Land Management, Mineral Resources Tasmania • Greg Pinkard, Manager, Land Conservation Branch, DPIW • Andrew Baldwin, NRM North • Adrian James, NRM North • Jay Wilson, NRM North Facilitator • Elisha Atchison, Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd This project was funded by NRM North Tasmania and the Australian Government. The steering committee was comprised of the following: • Scott Schilg, Program Manager, Healthy Coasts and Seas, NRM North • Emma Williams, Healthy Coasts and Seas Coordinator, NRM North • Imogen Birley, SEWPaC • Stewart Blackhall, Wildlife Biologist, Wildlife and Marine Conservation Section, Biodiversity Conservation Branch, DPIW • Dominique Couzens, Ranger in Charge – Scottsdale, Parks & Wildlife, Tasmania • Jay Wilson, Dorset Natural Resource Management Facilitator, Dorset Council 1 Introductory Notes This Ecological Character Description (ECD Publication) has been prepared in accordance with the National Framework and Guidance for Describing the Ecological Character of Australia’s Ramsar Wetlands (National Framework) (Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2008). The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) prohibits actions that are likely to have a significant impact on the ecological character of a Ramsar wetland unless the Commonwealth Environment Minister has approved the taking of the action, or some other provision in the EPBC Act allows the action to be taken. The information in this ECD Publication does not indicate any commitment to a particular course of action, policy position or decision. Further, it does not provide assessment of any particular action within the meaning of the EPBC Act, nor replace the role of the Minister or his delegate in making an informed decision to approve an action. This ECD Publication is provided without prejudice to any final decision by the Administrative Authority for Ramsar in Australia on change in ecological character in accordance with the requirements of Article 3.2 of the Ramsar Convention. Disclaimer While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the contents of this ECD are correct, the Commonwealth of Australia as represented by the Department of the Environment does not guarantee and accepts no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to the currency, accuracy, completeness, reliability or suitability of the information in this ECD. Note: There may be differences in the type of information contained in this ECD publication, to those of other Ramsar wetlands. Cover photos (left to right): The Ringarooma River - Michelle McAulay, SEWPaC; Panoramic View of the Ringarooma River - Michelle McAulay, SEWPaC; The Ringarooma River - Michelle McAulay, SEWPaC; The Ringarooma River - Michelle McAulay, SEWPaC. 2 Contents LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 6 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................. 18 1.1. PURPOSE................................................................................................................................................. 18 1.2. SITE DETAILS ........................................................................................................................................ 19 1.3. DATE OF DESCRIPTION ......................................................................................................................... 20 1.4. RELEVANT TREATIES, LEGISLATION OR REGULATIONS ...................................................................... 21 1.4.1. INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND STRATEGIES .................................................................................. 21 1.4.2. COMMONWEALTH LEGISLATION AND POLICY .................................................................................. 22 1.4.3. STATE LEGISLATION .......................................................................................................................... 23 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE ............................................................... 24 2.1 SETTING ................................................................................................................................................. 24 2.2 RAMSAR LISTING ................................................................................................................................... 28 2.2.1 Original Listing Criteria ............................................................................................................... 28 2.2.2 Assessment of remaining criteria ........................................................................................... 32 2.3 LAND USE AND TENURE ........................................................................................................................ 33 3. ECOLOGICAL CHARACTER OF THE FLOOD PLAIN LOWER RINGAROOMA RIVER RAMSAR SITE ..................................................................................................... 38 3.1 ECOLOGICAL ZONES OF THE SITE ........................................................................................................ 38 3.1.1 The Coastal Zone ..................................................................................................................... 40 3.1.2 The Estuary Zone .................................................................................................................... 43 3.1.3 The Freshwater Zone ............................................................................................................. 45 3.2 COMPONENTS AND PROCESSES OF THE SITE ...................................................................................... 49 3.2.1 Climate ........................................................................................................................................ 49 3.2.2 Geomorphology ........................................................................................................................ 52 3.2.3 Substrate .................................................................................................................................... 54 3.2.4 Hydrology ................................................................................................................................... 54 3.2.5 Water Quality ............................................................................................................................ 57 3.2.6 Vegetation .................................................................................................................................. 58 3.2.7 Fauna ........................................................................................................................................... 62 3.3 BENEFITS AND SERVICES OF THE SITE ................................................................................................ 68 3.4 CRITICAL COMPONENTS AND PROCESSES AND ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS ............................................. 72 3.4.1 Critical components and processes .................................................................................. 72 3.4.2 Essential elements .................................................................................................................. 75 3.5 CRITICAL BENEFITS AND SERVICES .....................................................................................................