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 (EC 124)
 
 
I, MARK BUTLER, Minister for the 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 endangered category
Eyre Peninsula Blue Gum (Eucalyptus petiolaris) Woodland
as described in the Schedule to this instrument
 
 
 
 
Dated this…...... 5th .....................day of...... August ..................2013
 
 
 
 
Mark Butler
 
MARK BUTLER
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Water
SCHEDULE
 
Eyre Peninsula Blue Gum (Eucalyptus petiolaris) Woodland
 
The Eyre Peninsula Blue Gum (Eucalyptus petiolaris) Woodland ecological community is endemic to the Eyre Peninsula. It occurs mainly in the Koppio Hills, Cleve Hills and west of the Marble Range where the annual rainfall is high relative to other parts of the Peninsula. The ecological community predominantly occurs on well-drained, moderate to high fertility soils associated with sheltered valleys, lower hill slopes and watercourses.
The vegetation structure of the ecological community is typically woodland to open forest. The upper layer (canopy) is dominated or co-dominated by Eucalyptus petiolaris (blue gum) and the tree canopy cover is 10% or more. Other tree species that may be present in the canopy include: Allocasuarina verticillata (drooping sheoak), Eucalyptus camaldulensis (river red gum), Eucalyptus cladocalyx (sugar gum) and Eucalyptus odorata (peppermint box). The canopy height of the ecological community typically ranges up to 15 metres.
The mid layer of the ecological community varies from open to dense, mainly consisting of a layer of sclerophyllous shrubs or small trees including Bursaria spinosa (sweet bursaria), Hakea rugosa (dwarf hakea) and Xanthorrhoea semiplana (yakka). In low-lying areas and along creeklines, other species such as Callistemon rugulosus (scarlet bottlebrush), Melaleuca brevifolia (short-leaf honey-myrtle) and M. decussata (totem-poles) may dominate the mid layer. The density of the mid layer can influence the ground layer, for example, a dense mid layer leads to a sparse ground layer.
The ground layer of the ecological community is variable in development and composition, ranging from sparse to a thick layer of native grasses and other herbs. It is typically low and dominated by a variety of grasses, sedges and rushes such as Rytidosperma (formerly Austrodanthonia) spp. (wallaby grasses), Austrostipa spp. (speargrasses), Carex spp. (sedge), Gahnia spp. (sedge), Lepidosperma viscidum (sticky sword-sedge), Chorizandra enodis (black bristle-rush), Juncus subsecundus (finger rush) and Lomandra spp. Seasonal herbaceous species diversity tends to increase during spring and may include Chaemaescilla corymbosa var. corymbosa (blue squill), Geranium retrosum (common cranesbill) and Lagenophora huegelii (coarse bottle-daisy). Low shrubs also occur in the ground layer and may be locally dominant, such as Dampiera rosmarinifolia (rosemary dampiera). Where the ecological community occurs near creeklines and low-lying areas, species adapted to occasional inundation, such as sedges and rushes, may dominate.