1.1.7.2 Terrestrial species and communities

The Gloucester subregion lies almost entirely within the IBRA Karuah-Manning subregion within the IBRA NSW North Coast (NNC) bioregion and also within the North Coast botanical region described by Harden (1990). The vegetation of the IBRA NNC is briefly described as: humid; hills, coastal plains and sand dunes; Eucalyptus – Lophostemon confertus tall open forests, Eucalyptus open forests and woodlands, subtropical rainforest (often with Araucaria cunninghamii and Melaleuca quinquenervia), wetlands and heaths (Environment Australia, 2000).

The IBRA Karuah-Manning subregion is located in the south of the IBRA NNC bioregion and is largely comprised of coastal barrier sands, estuarine plains and alluvial deposits (DECCW, 2009). Over half of this IBRA subregion has been cleared but it still supports significant wetlands, coastal sand heaths and woodlands from Fullerton Cove north to Port Stephens. The following description of the vegetation in the IBRA Karuah-Manning subregion is based on NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS, 2003). In the south of the IBRA NNC bioregion on the Barrington Plateau, cool temperate species are common and the fertile basaltic soils support rainforest including Antarctic beech (Nothofagus moorei) which forms a two tiered forest structure. Here it occurs as the only overstorey species with a fern understorey. Rainforests are also sometimes found inhabiting protected pockets where plant nutrients have accumulated in litter. In contrast, eucalypt vegetation communities mainly occur on granitic soils; dominant species include blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis), Sydney blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna), spotted gum (Eucalyptus maculata), grey gum (Eucalyptus punctata), forest red gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis), red bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera), brush box (Tristania conferta) and white mahogany (Eucalyptus acmenoides).

In the coastal dunes, coastal tea tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) and coastal wattle (Acacia longifolia) occur near the beach, with some areas of beach she-oak (Casuarina equisetifolia), snappy gum (Eucalyptus racemosa), blackbutt, dwarf red bloodwood and bastard mahogany (Eucalyptus umbra). Banksia and bangalow palms are found in the dunes and heath and paperbark swamps occur behind the dunes and near the lagoons. Where sufficient nutrients have accumulated, rare patches of rainforest species may also be found.

Almost none of the Gloucester subregion lies within conservation reserves compared to 16% of the IBRA Karuah-Manning subregion. The majority of the Gloucester subregion is cleared (see Section 1.1.2). The major land uses are grazing on modified pastures, intensive urban use or other commercial uses. Much of the remnant vegetation in the Gloucester subregion lies within areas classified as ‘Other minimal use’ or ‘Water’, which are mainly distributed along the margins of the subregion, on or adjacent to hill slopes, or along watercourses. A significant nature conservation area lies south of the subregion along the eastern edge of the Karuah National Park. Much of the vegetation is eucalypt forest (see Section 1.1.2), with open eucalypt forest and grassy understorey being the single most common natural vegetation type within the subregion (Table 9). Much of the riparian zone has been cleared from the banks of the Gloucester River north of Gloucester along the Manning River. In contrast, the banks of the Karuah River from Stroud to Karuah are well-vegetated. The section of Karuah National Park within the subregion contains eucalypt forest with a broadleaf/fern or woody understorey and substantial areas of mangroves.

Table 9 Vegetation of the Gloucester subregion

Comparative areas of vegetation within the Gloucester subregion and the IBRA* Karuah-Manning subregion of the IBRA NSW North Coast bioregion.

	Gloucester subregion % area	Gloucester subregion area (ha)	IBRA* Karuah-Manning subregion % area	IBRA* Karuah-Manning subregion area (ha)
Tropical or subtropical rainforest	0.0		1.1	4935
Eucalyptus (tall) open forest with a dense broad-leaved and/or tree-fern understorey (Eucalyptus open forests with a shrubby wet sclerophyll understorey)	3.6	1659	15.7	68,158
Eucalyptus open forests with a shrubby understorey	2.0	936	6.4	27,732
Eucalyptus open forests with a grassy understorey	11.7	5389	27.2	117,907
Eucalyptus woodlands with a shrubby understorey	1.8	849	3.2	13,889
Melaleuca open forests and woodlands	0.0	5	0.8	3273
Casuarina and Allocasuarina forests and woodlands	0.0		0.2	632
Heath	0.0		1.4	6188
Other shrublands	0.0		0.1	486
Mangroves	0.4	203	0.2	826
Naturally bare, sand, rock, claypan, mudflat	0.0		0.2	802
Freshwater, dams, lakes, lagoons or aquatic plants	1.1	484	5.3	22,772
Eucalyptus tall open forest with a fine-leaved shrubby understorey	1.7	794	9.7	42,195
Eucalyptus tall open forests and open forests with ferns, herbs, sedges, rushes or wet tussock grasses	0.0	4	0.1	368
Sedgelands, rushes or reeds	0.0		0.4	1605
Unclassified native vegetation	0.0		0.5	1987
Cleared, non-native vegetation, buildings	77.5	35,836	27.2	117,824
Unknown/No data	0.2	103	0.5	2291
Total	100.0	46,262	100.0	433,870

* Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia

Sixteen threatened ecological communities are listed under the TSC Act. One is listed as critically endangered and four are endangered (Table 10), and may be present within the IBRA Karuah-Manning subregion. This includes twelve vegetation and two animal threatened ecological communities. Five of the vegetation and one of the animal threatened ecological communities are also listed under the EPBC Act, including three listed as critically endangered (Table 10).

Table 10 Conservation status of threatened ecological communities found in the IBRA* Karuah-Manning subregion

As listed under NSW’s Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (the TSC Act) or the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act).

Community name	TSC Act	EPBC Act
Coastal Saltmarsh in the New South Wales North Coast, Sydney Basin and South East Corner Bioregions / Subtropical and Temperate Coastal Saltmarsh	endangered	vulnerable
Eucalyptus seeana population in the Greater Taree local government area	endangered	not listed
Freshwater Wetlands on Coastal Floodplains of the New South Wales North Coast, Sydney Basin and South East Corner Bioregions	endangered	not listed
Hunter Lowland Redgum Forest in the Sydney Basin and New South Wales North Coast Bioregions	endangered	not listed
Littoral Rainforest in the New South Wales North Coast, Sydney Basin and South East Corner Bioregions / Littoral Rainforest and Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia	endangered	critically endangered
Lowland Rainforest in the NSW North Coast and Sydney Basin Bioregions / Lowland Rainforest of Subtropical Australia	endangered	critically endangered
Lowland Rainforest on Floodplain in the New South Wales North Coast Bioregion / Lowland Rainforest of Subtropical Australia	endangered	critically endangered
Rhizanthella slateri (Rupp) M.A. Clem. & Cribb in the Great Lakes local government area / Rhizanthella slateri — Eastern Underground Orchid	endangered	endangered
River-Flat Eucalypt Forest on Coastal Floodplains of the New South Wales North Coast, Sydney Basin and South East Corner Bioregions	endangered	not listed
Subtropical Coastal Floodplain Forest of the New South Wales North Coast Bioregion	endangered	not listed
Swamp Oak Floodplain Forest of the New South Wales North Coast, Sydney Basin and South East Corner Bioregions	endangered	not listed
Swamp Sclerophyll Forest on Coastal Floodplains of the New South Wales North Coast, Sydney Basin and South East Corner Bioregions	endangered	not listed
Sydney Freshwater Wetlands in the Sydney Basin Bioregion	endangered	not listed
Themeda grassland on seacliffs and coastal headlands in the NSW North Coast, Sydney Basin and South East Corner Bioregions	endangered	not listed
Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) population in the New South Wales North Coast Bioregion and Port Stephens local government area	endangered	not listed
Koala, Hawks Nest and Tea Gardens population / Koala (combined populations of Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory)	endangered	vulnerable

* Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia.

Source data: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedSpeciesApp/AreaHabitatSearch.aspx?cmaname=Hunter-Central+Rivers.

There are 56 threatened fauna and twelve threatened flora species listed under the TCS Act that may occur within the Gloucester subregion (Table 11). This includes 18 threatened fauna and eight threatened flora species that are listed as vulnerable or endangered under the EPBC Act.

Table 11 Conservation status of threatened flora and fauna species recorded in the Gloucester bioregion

As listed under NSW’s Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (the TSC Act) or the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) that have been recorded in or that may occur in the Gloucester subregion.

Source data: http://www.bionet.nsw.gov.au/.

Common name	Species name	TSC Act	EPBC Act
Broad-headed Snake	Hoplocephalus bungaroides	Endangered	Vulnerable
Stephens' Banded Snake	Hoplocephalus stephensii	Vulnerable	Not listed

Green and Golden Bell Frog	Litoria aurea	Endangered	Vulnerable
Stuttering Frog	Mixophyes balbus	Endangered	Vulnerable
Giant Barred Frog	Mixophyes iteratus	Endangered	Endangered

Magpie Goose	Anseranas semipalmata	Vulnerable	Marine
Australasian Bittern	Botaurus poiciloptilus	Vulnerable	Endangered
Bush Stone-curlew	Burhinus grallarius	Endangered	Not listed
Gang-gang Cockatoo	Callocephalon fimbriatum	Vulnerable	Not listed
Glossy Black-Cockatoo	Calyptorhynchus lathami	Vulnerable	Not listed
Spotted harrier	Circus assimilis	Vulnerable	Not listed
Brown Treecreeper	Climacteris picumnus	Vulnerable	Not listed
Barred Cuckoo-shrike	Coracina lineata	Vulnerable	Not listed
Eastern Bristlebird	Dasyornis brachypterus	Endangered	Endangered
Black-necked Stork	Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus	Endangered	Not listed
Red Goshawk	Erythrotriorchis radiatus	Critically Endangered	Vulnerable
White-throated Needletail	Hirundapus caudacutus	Not listed	Marine, Migratory
Comb-crested Jacana	Irediparra gallinacea	Vulnerable	Not listed
Black Bittern	Ixobrychus flavicollis	Vulnerable	Not listed
Swift Parrot	Lathamus discolor	Endangered	Endangered
Square-tailed Kite	Lophoictinia isura	Vulnerable	Not listed
Black-chinned Honeyeater	Melithreptus gularis	Vulnerable	Not listed
Rainbow Bee-eater	Merops ornatus	Not listed	Marine, Migratory
Black-faced Monarch	Monarcha melanopsis	Not listed	Marine, Migratory
Turquoise Parrot	Neophema pulchella	Vulnerable	Not listed
Barking Owl	Ninox connivens	Vulnerable	Not listed
Powerful Owl	Ninox strenua	Vulnerable	Not listed
Grey-crowned Babbler	Pomatostomus temporalis	Vulnerable	Not listed
Wompoo Fruit-Dove	Ptilinopus magnificus	Vulnerable	Not listed
Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove	Ptilinopus regina	Vulnerable	Not listed
Superb Fruit-Dove	Ptilinopus superbus	Vulnerable	Marine
Speckled Warbler	Pyrrholaemus saggitatus	Vulnerable	Not listed
Rufous Fantail	Rhipidura rufifrons	Not listed	Marine, Migratory
Painted Snipe	Rostratula benghalensis	Endangered	Vulnerable
Masked Owl	Tyto novaehollandiae	Vulnerable	Not listed
Sooty Owl	Tyto tenebricosa	Vulnerable	Not listed
Regent Honeyeater	Xanthomyza phrygia	Endangered	Endangered

Large-eared Pied Bat	Chalinolobus dwyeri	Vulnerable	Vulnerable
Spotted-tailed Quoll	Dasyurus maculatus	Vulnerable	Endangered
Eastern False Pipistrelle	Falsistrellus tasmaniensis	Vulnerable	Not listed
Golden-tipped Bat	Kerivoula papuensis	Vulnerable	Not listed
Parma Wallaby	Macropus parma	Vulnerable	Not listed
Little Bent-wing Bat	Miniopterus australis	Vulnerable	Not listed
Eastern Bentwing-bat	Miniopterus schreibersii oceanensis	Vulnerable	Not listed
Eastern Free-tail Bat	Mormopterus norfolkensis	Vulnerable	Not listed
Large-footed Myotis (or Southern Myotis)	Myotis macropus	Vulnerable	Not listed
Yellow-bellied Glider	Petaurus australis	Vulnerable	Not listed
Squirrel Glider	Petaurus norfolcensis	Vulnerable	Not listed
Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby	Petrogale penicillata	Vulnerable	Vulnerable
Brush-tailed Phascogale	Phascogale tapoatafa	Vulnerable	Not listed
Koala	Phascolarctos cinereus	Vulnerable	Vulnerable
Common Planigale	Planigale maculata	Vulnerable	Not listed
Long-nosed Potoroo	Potorous tridactylus	Vulnerable	Vulnerable
New Holland Mouse, Pookila	Pseudomys novaehollandiae	Vulnerable	Endangered
Hastings River Mouse, Koontoo	Pseudomys oralis	Endangered	Vulnerable
Grey-headed Flying-fox	Pteropus poliocephalus	Vulnerable	Vulnerable
Yellow-bellied Sheath-tail Bat	Saccolaimus flaviventris	Vulnerable	Not listed
Greater Broad-nosed Bat	Scoteanax rueppellii	Vulnerable	Not listed
Red legged pademelon	Thylogale stigmatica	Vulnerable	Not listed
Eastern Cave Bat	Vespadelus troughtoni	Vulnerable	Not listed

Charmhaven Apple	Angophora inopina	Vulnerable	Vulnerable
Trailing Woodruff	Asperula asthenes	Vulnerable	Vulnerable
Netted Bottle Brush	Callistemon linearifolius	Vulnerable	Not listed
Leafless Tongue-orchid	Cryptostylis hunteriana	Vulnerable	Vulnerable
White-flowered Wax Plant	Cynanchum elegans	Endangered	Endangered
Slaty Red Gum	Eucalyptus glaucina	Vulnerable	Vulnerable
Guthrie's Grevillea	Grevillea guthrieana	Endangered	Endangered
Small-flower grevillea	Grevillea parviflora subsp. parviflora	Vulnerable	Vulnerable
Scant Pomaderris	Pomaderris queenslandica	Endangered	Not listed
Black-eyed Susan	Tetratheca juncea	Vulnerable	Vulnerable
Zannichellia palustris	Zannichellia palustris	Endangered	Not listed

Last updated:

5 January 2018

Terrestrial species and communities

Product Finalisation date

Numbered headings

ASSESSMENT

PRODUCT DATA