Councils, Cars and Critters Managing road verges for competing values in southern Western Australia Greg Keighery Do you know where I am? # Photo Bronwen Keighery Where am I now? Tuart Eucalyptus gomphocephala Endemic to the Swan Coastal Plain in WA Type from Geographe Bay in 1801 Unusual eucalypt, not closely related to any other species Two varieties, one presumed extinct Eucalyptus gomphocephala var. rhodoxylon Guildford Wreath Leschenaultia (Lechenaultia macrantha) Native Foxglove (Dasymalla terminalis) Two Presumed Destroyed Ecological Communities Greenough Flats Vegetation System Irwin Vegetation System Bandicoot Nature Reserve • a diversity of species, 470 species and 400 native species • 60 Significant Flora including 18 DRF & Priority ‘The arguments in favour of roads are direct and concrete, while those against are subtle and difficult to express.’ (Marshall, 1935) Importance of roadside vegetation: • Sense of place • Last remnants of ecological communities • Vital Landscape connectivity • Corridors/wildlife habitat • Last refuge for some rare species • Transects of past plant communities Genetically different: Road verge plantings local northern Currently known Busselton Ironstones occurrences with remnant vegetation Taylor’s McGibbon Ruabon-Tutunup Road track Oates Chambers Road Williamson Road Road Gale Road Treeton Block 3 1 Tutunup Road Bushland 1 Foothills Mountain Marri and Jarrah Low Forest (SWAFCT 1a &1b) 2 Banksia Woodland (SWAFCT 21b) along either side of the old railway (centre). 2 3 Busselton Ironstones (SWAFCT 10b) Busselton Ironstone Endemics 3 2 1 1 1: Grevillea elongata 2: Isopogon formosus subsp. dasylepis P3 4 3: Dryandra squarrosa subsp. argillacea R 4: Dryandra nivea subsp. Swan R Tutunup Railway verge – burnt 1993/94, very good regeneration Calothamnus quadrifidus subspecies teretifolius Grevillea maccutcheonii Rare Flora roadside markers Roadside Grevillea (Grevillea curviloba) Silky Eremophila (Eremophila nivea) Wooly Native Foxglove (Dasymalla axillaris) Wheatbelt populations Yellow Upsidedown Pea (Leptosema tomentosum) Fat Blue Samphire (Tecticornia bulbosa) Grevillea brachystylis subsp. grandis Eucalyptus “Pingrup Pink” Review Importance of roadside vegetation: • Sense of place • Last remnants of ecological communities • Vital Landscape connectivity • Corridors/wildlife habitat • Last refuge for some rare species • Transects of past plant communities.