Commonwealth of Australia
 
Inclusion of ecological communities in the list of threatened ecological communities under section 181 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EC118)
 
 
I, MARK BUTLER, Minister for Environment, Heritage and Water, pursuant to paragraph 184(1)(a) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, hereby amend the list referred to in section 181 of that Act by:
 
including in the list in the vulnerable category
Subtropical and Temperate Coastal Saltmarsh
as described in the Schedule to this instrument and titled ‘Subtropical and Temperate Coastal Saltmarsh’.
                                              
 
 
 
 
Dated this…....5th..................................day of…..August.....................................2013
 
 
 
Signed
 
 
 
 
Mark Butler
 
MARK BUTLER
Minister for Environment, Heritage and Water
 
SCHEDULE
 
Subtropical and Temperate Coastal Saltmarsh
 
The Subtropical and Temperate Coastal Saltmarsh ecological community occurs within a relatively narrow margin of the Australian coastline, south of the central Mackay coast on the east coast of Queensland, southerly around Australia to and including Shark Bay on the west coast of Western Australia (26° latitude), and including the Tasmanian coast and islands within this range.  The ecological community spans six state jurisdictions: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia.
 
The ecological community occurs on the coastal margin, along estuaries and coastal embayments and on low wave energy coasts. It is typically found on sandy or muddy substrate and may include coastal clay pans or similar areas.  It occurs in places with at least some tidal connection, including rarely-inundated supratidal areas, intermittently opened or closed lagoons, and groundwater tidal influences. The ecological community may also include areas that have groundwater connectivity to tidal water bodies.
 
The ecological community consists of dense to patchy areas of mainly salt-tolerant vegetation (halophytes) including: grasses, herbs, sedges and shrubs that may also include bare sediment as part of the mosaic). Characteristic plant species include Gahnia filum, G. trifida, Juncus kraussii, Samolus repens, Sarcocornia quinqueflora, Sporobolus virginicus, Suaeda australis, Tecticornia pergranulata, T. arbuscula, Triglochin striata, Wilsonia backousei and W. rotundifolia.
 
Succulent herbs, shrubs and grasses generally dominate and vegetation is generally of less than 0.5 m height (with the exception of some reeds and sedges). Many species of non-vascular plants are also found in saltmarsh including epiphytic algae, diatoms and cyanobacterial mats.
 
The ecological community is inhabited by a wide range of fauna such as prawns, fish and water birds. The dominant marine residents are benthic invertebrates, including molluscs and crabs.