NSW SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Preliminary Determination The Scientific Committee, established by the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (the Act), has made a Preliminary Determination under Section 22 of the Act to support a proposal for the inclusion of Tablelands Snow Gum, Candlebark and Kangaroo Grass Grassy Woodland in the NSW South Western Slopes, South East Corner, South Eastern Highlands and Sydney Basin Bioregions as a Critically Endangered Ecological Community in Part 2 of Schedule 1A of the Act and as a consequence to omit reference to Tablelands Snow Gum, Black Sallee, Candlebark and Ribbon Gum Grassy Woodland in the South Eastern Highlands, Sydney Basin, South East Corner and NSW South Western Slopes Bioregions from Part 3 of Schedule 1 of the Act. Tablelands Snow Gum, Black Sallee, Candlebark and Ribbon Gum Grassy Woodland in the South Eastern Highlands, Sydney Basin, South East Corner and NSW South Western Slopes Bioregions was listed as an Endangered Ecological Community under the Act in April 2011. Since that time, additional information has become available and the Committee is of the opinion that the determination of this community should be amended with regard to the additional information and the need to reassess the status of the community. The name of the community has been changed to be more consistent with the assemblage of species which characterises the community and the description has been amended to clarify the intent of the determination. This determination contains the following information: Parts 1 & 2: Section 4 of the Act defines an ecological community as “an assemblage of species occupying a particular area”. These features of Tablelands Snow Gum, Candlebark and Kangaroo Grass Grassy Woodland in the NSW South Western Slopes, South East Corner, South Eastern Highlands and Sydney Basin Bioregions are described in Parts 1 and 2 of this Determination, respectively. Part 3: Part 3 of this Determination describes the eligibility for listing of this ecological community in Part 2 of Schedule 1A of the Act according to criteria as prescribed by the Threatened Species Conservation Regulation 2010. Part 4: Part 4 of this Determination provides additional information intended to aid recognition of this community in the field. Part 1. Assemblage of species 1.1 Tablelands Snow Gum, Candlebark and Kangaroo Grass Grassy Woodland in the NSW South Western Slopes, South East Corner, South Eastern Highlands and Sydney Basin Bioregions (hereafter referred to as the Tablelands Snow Gum, Candlebark and Kangaroo Grass Grassy Woodland) is characterised by the assemblage of species listed below. ESTABLISHED UNDER THE THREATENED SPECIES CONSERVATION ACT 1995 Contact Address: C/o PO Box 1967 Hurstville BC NSW 1481 Telephone: (02) 9585 6940 Facsimile: (02) 9585 6606 NSW SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Acacia dealbata Eucalyptus tereticornis Acacia melanoxylon Eucalyptus viminalis Acaena echinata Geranium solanderi Acaena novae-zelandiae Gonocarpus tetragynus Acaena ovina Goodenia hederacea Acrotriche serrulata Haloragis heterophylla Aristida ramosa Hydrocotyle laxiflora Asperula conferta Hypericum gramineum Asperula scoparia Juncus australis Astroloma humifusum Juncus filicaulis Austrostipa bigeniculata Juncus subsecundus Austrostipa densiflora Kunzea parvifolia Austrostipa scabra Leptorhynchos squamatus Bossiaea prostrata Leptospermum myrtifolium Bothriochloa macra Lomandra filiformis Calocephalus citreus Luzula densiflora Carex appressa Melichrus urceolatus Carex inversa Microlaena stipoides Chrysocephalum apiculatum Microtis unifolia Convolvulus angustissimus Opercularia hispida Desmodium varians Panicum effusum Dichelachne crinita Pimelea curviflora Dichelachne micrantha Plantago gaudichaudii Dichondra repens Plantago varia Dichopogon fimbriatus Poa labillardierei Elymus scaber Poa meionectes Epilobium billardierianum Poa sieberiana Eragrostis brownii Pultenaea subspicata Eryngium rostratum Rytidosperma duttonianum Eucalyptus aggregata Rytidosperma laeve Eucalyptus amplifolia Rytidosperma penicillatum Eucalyptus bridgesiana Rytidosperma pilosum Eucalyptus cinerea Rumex brownii Eucalyptus dalrympleana Schoenus apogon Eucalyptus dives Scleranthus biflorus Eucalyptus macrorhyncha Solenogyne dominii Eucalyptus mannifera Solenogyne gunnii Eucalyptus melliodora Themeda australis Eucalyptus ovata Tricoryne elatior Eucalyptus pauciflora Viola betonicifolia Eucalyptus radiata Vittadinia muelleri ESTABLISHED UNDER THE THREATENED SPECIES CONSERVATION ACT 1995 Contact Address: C/o PO Box 1967 Hurstville BC NSW 1481 Telephone: (02) 9585 6940 Facsimile: (02) 9585 6606 NSW SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Eucalyptus rubida Wurmbea dioica Eucalyptus stellulata 1.2 The total species list of the community across all occurrences is likely to be considerably larger than that given above. Due to variation across the range of the community, not all of the above species are present at every site and many sites may also contain species not listed above. Characteristic species may be abundant or rare and comprise only a subset of the complete list of species recorded in known examples of the community. Some characteristic species show a high fidelity (are relatively restricted) to the community, but may also occur in other communities, while others are more typically found in a range of communities. The number and identity of species recorded at a site is a function of sampling scale and effort. In general, the number of species recorded is likely to increase with the size of the site and there is a greater possibility of recording species that are rare in the landscape. Species presence and relative abundance (dominance) will vary from site to site as a function of environmental factors such as soil properties (chemical composition, texture, depth, drainage), topography, climate, and through time as a function of isturbance (e.g. fire, logging, grazing) and weather (e.g. flooding, drought, extreme heat or cold). At any one time, above ground individuals of some species may be absent, but the species may be represented below ground in the soil seed bank or as dormant structures such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, rootstocks or lignotubers. The species listed above are vascular plants, however the community also includes micro-organisms, fungi and cryptogamic plants as well as vertebrate and invertebrate fauna. These components of the community are less well documented. Part 2. Particular area occupied by the ecological community 2.1 The assemblage of species listed in Part 1.1 above which characterises the Tablelands Snow Gum, Candlebark and Kangaroo Grass Grassy Woodland in the NSW South Western Slopes, South East Corner, South Eastern Highlands and Sydney Basin Bioregions. These Bioregions are defined by SEWPaC (2012) Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, Version 7. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/nrs/science/bioregion- framework/ibra/maps.html 2.2 It is the intent of the Scientific Committee that all occurrences of the ecological community (both recorded and as yet unrecorded, and independent of their condition) that occur within these bioregions be covered by this Determination. ESTABLISHED UNDER THE THREATENED SPECIES CONSERVATION ACT 1995 Contact Address: C/o PO Box 1967 Hurstville BC NSW 1481 Telephone: (02) 9585 6940 Facsimile: (02) 9585 6606 NSW SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Part 3. Eligibility for listing 3.1 Reasons for determining eligibility for listing 3.1.1 Clearing for agriculture has caused a very large reduction in geographic distribution of Tablelands Snow Gum, Candlebark and Kangaroo Grass Grassy Woodland and Grassland and has also caused severe fragmentation. The community includes and closely corresponds to map unit p22 of Tozer et al. (2010) and vegetation group 153 of Gellie (2005). Estimates of current and pre-European distribution of these two communities provide the best available estimate of the reduction in geographic distribution of Tablelands Snow Gum, Candlebark and Kangaroo Grass Grassy Woodland and Grassland. Tozer et al. (2010) estimate that map unit p22 has been 80- 95% cleared. Gellie (2005) estimates that vegetation group 153 has been 98% cleared. Overall, it is likely that there has been a decline of at least 80% in the geographic extent of Tablelands Snow Gum, Candlebark and Kangaroo Grass Grassy Woodland and Grassland over the last 200 years, an appropriate time span for assessing a reduction in the distribution of a community which is mostly woodland. Many remnants are subject to ongoing degradation and risk of further clearing, for agriculture or urban and rural residential development (Crooks in litt. July 2009). ‘Clearing of native vegetation’ is listed as a Key Threatening Process under the Act. 3.1.2 Many remnants of Tablelands Snow Gum, Candlebark and Kangaroo Grass Grassy Woodland and Grassland are small and have substantially reduced native species richness and a high proportion of exotic species. Many have been degraded due to grazing by domestic livestock and associated activities. Intensive livestock grazing, especially if combined with fertilizer application, causes an increase in exotic annuals, loss of native tussock grasses and decreased abundance of native forbs (Tremont and McIntyre 1994; Hobbs and Yates 1999; McIntyre et al. 2002; Prober et al. 2002; Garden et al. 2003; Clarke 2003; Lunt et al. 2007) and changes vegetation structure (Hobbs and Yates 1999). These changes consequently change the fauna associated