Assessment of the Flora and Vegetation at the Toro Energy Wiluna Uranium Project: Lake Way, Centipede and West Creek borefield. Report prepared for April 2011 . © Niche Environmental Services. All rights reserved. This document is confidential and cannot be reproduced or communicated by any means without the permission of Niche Environmental Services and Toro Energy Ltd. This report has been prepared for Toro Energy Ltd for the purpose for which it was prepared. No representation is implied or made for any third party. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 SUMMARY................................................................................................................................ 1 2.0 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................... 7 2.2 SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ................................................................................... 7 3.0 SURVEY AREAS ...................................................................................................................... 8 3.1 STUDY SITES ........................................................................................................................... 8 3.1.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 8 3.1.2 Centipede survey area ................................................................................................... 8 3.1.3 Lake Way survey area ................................................................................................... 8 3.1.4 West Creek borefield survey area .................................................................................. 8 3.1.5 Regional surveys autumn 2010 ..................................................................................... 9 3.1.6 Regional surveys spring 2010 ........................................................................................ 9 3.2 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING ..................................................................................................... 11 3.2.1 IBRA Bioregion ............................................................................................................. 11 3.2.2 Beard Vegetation ......................................................................................................... 11 3.2.3 Climate ......................................................................................................................... 12 4.0 METHODS – DESKTOP REVIEW ......................................................................................... 14 4.1 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................ 14 4.2 ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION (EPBC) ACT 1999 PROTECTED MATTERS DATABASE SEARCH ........................................................................................................... 14 4.3 DECLARED RARE AND PRIORITY FLORA – DEC DATABASE SEARCH ......................................... 15 4.4 THREATENED ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES – DEC DATABASE SEARCH ..................................... 15 5.0 METHODS – FIELD SURVEY ................................................................................................ 16 5.1 TIMING OF SURVEYS ............................................................................................................... 16 5.2 SURVEY LOCATIONS .............................................................................................................. 16 5.2.1 Centipede survey area ................................................................................................. 16 5.2.2 Lake Way survey area ................................................................................................. 16 5.2.3 West Creek borefield survey area ................................................................................ 16 5.2.4 Regional surveys .......................................................................................................... 16 5.3 QUADRAT SURVEY METHODS ................................................................................................. 23 5.4 TRAVERSE TO DEVELOP CENSUS ............................................................................................ 23 5.5 TARGETED SEARCHES ............................................................................................................ 23 5.5.1 Eremophila arachnoides Chinook subsp. arachnoides and E. congesta Chinook ...... 23 5.5.2 Tecticornia sp. Lake Way (P. Armstrong 05/961) ........................................................ 24 5.5.3 Stackhousia clementii Domin. ...................................................................................... 25 5.5.4 Rhagodia sp. Yeelirrie Station (K.A. Shepherd et al. KS 1396) and Atriplex sp. Yeelirrie Station (L. Trotter & A. Douglas LCH 25025) ............................................................... 25 5.5.5 Other listed species ...................................................................................................... 25 5.6 PROJECT PERSONNEL ............................................................................................................ 25 5.7 SURVEY LIMITATIONS ............................................................................................................. 26 6.0 METHODS – DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ................................................... 28 6.1 TAXONOMY ............................................................................................................................ 28 6.2 VEGETATION DESCRIPTION AND MAPPING ............................................................................... 28 7.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION – DESKTOP REVIEW .......................................................... 29 7.1 ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION (EPBC) ACT 1999 PROTECTED MATTERS DATABASE SEARCH ........................................................................................................... 29 7.2 DECLARED RARE AND PRIORITY FLORA – DEC DATABASE SEARCH ......................................... 29 7.3 THREATENED ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES – DEC DATABASE SEARCH ...................................... 32 7.4 REVIEW OF EXISTING REPORTS .............................................................................................. 34 7.4.1 Shepherd et al. (2007) ................................................................................................. 34 7.4.2 Mabbutt & CSIRO. (1963) ........................................................................................... 36 7.4.3 Outback Ecology Services (2007) ................................................................................ 39 8.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION - VEGETATION .................................................................... 39 8.1 CENTIPEDE SURVEY AREA ...................................................................................................... 39 8.1.1 Site description ............................................................................................................. 39 8.1.2 Vegetation descriptions and condition assessment ..................................................... 40 8.2 LAKE WAY SURVEY AREA ....................................................................................................... 44 8.2.1 Site description ............................................................................................................. 44 8.2.2 Vegetation descriptions and condition assessment ..................................................... 44 8.3 WEST CREEK BOREFIELD SURVEY AREA .................................................................................. 50 8.3.1 Site description ............................................................................................................. 50 8.3.2 Vegetation descriptions and condition assessment ..................................................... 50 8.4 REGIONAL CONTEXT .............................................................................................................. 57 8.4.1 Summary of findings .................................................................................................... 57 8.4.2 Conservation Significance of Vegetation ..................................................................... 58 8.4.3 Threatening Processes ................................................................................................ 61 8.5 GROUNDWATER-DEPENDENT VEGETATION .............................................................................. 62 8.5.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 62 8.5.2 Centipede survey area ................................................................................................. 65 8.5.3 Lake way survey area .................................................................................................. 65 8.5.4 West Creek borefield survey area ................................................................................ 65 9.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION - FLORA ............................................................................... 69 9.1 SUMMARY OF FLORA .............................................................................................................