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Commonwealth of Australia

List of Threatened Ecological Communities Amendment (EC179) Instrument 2022

I, TANYA PLIBERSEK, Minister for the Environment and Water, pursuant to paragraph 184(a) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, amend the list referred to in section 181 of that Act by including in the list of threatened ecological communities in the endangered category:

Subtropical eucalypt floodplain forest and woodland of the New South Wales North Coast and South East Queensland bioregions

as described in the Schedule to this instrument.

This instrument commences the day after registration.

Tanya Plibersek
...................................................................................
Tanya Plibersek
Minister for the Environment and Water

Dated ...... 26-9-22........................................................

SCHEDULE 1

Subtropical eucalypt floodplain forest and woodland of the New South Wales North Coast and South East Queensland bioregions

The Subtropical eucalypt floodplain forest and woodland of the New South Wales North Coast and South East Queensland bioregions is the assemblage of native plants, animals and other organisms that comprise forests and woodlands dominated by trees from five myrtaceous genera that occurs on alluvial landforms, including floodplains, riparian zones, alluvial flats, floodplain terraces and periodically flooded depressions, within the New South Wales North Coast and South Eastern Queensland bioregions, and on Curtis Island in the Brigalow Belt North bioregion. It generally occurs at elevations below 50 m above sea‑level (ASL), although it can occur up to 250 m ASL.

The ecological community generally occurs on alluvial soils, with more limited occurrences on in-situ soils within localised depressions, which may be at least occasionally saturated, water-logged, or inundated. Alluvial soils are very diverse and usually reflect the properties of their parent material in the upper catchment, but they may include in-situ subsoils, and colluvial deposits that overlay the alluvial floodplain. The ecological community does not typically occur on soils that are primarily marine or aeolian sand but may occur on such substrates after they have been modified by fluvial activity.

The structure of the ecological community, in its undisturbed state, varies from tall open forest to woodland, although partial clearing may have reduced the canopy to scattered trees in some areas. Elsewhere, there may be localised areas of denser closed forest and/or low forest. The tree canopy is dominated by eucalypts and other myrtaceous trees (specifically Eucalyptus, Angophora, Corymbia, Lophostemon and Syncarpia species), often as a mixture of species.

A mid layer, or sub-canopy, of small trees may be present with scattered to dense shrubs. For example, Melaleuca, Leptospermum and related genera may form dense thickets beneath the main canopy, or in gaps between canopy trees. Its groundcover is generally more diverse and abundant than for other forests and woodlands in locally adjoining slopes.

The ecological community includes a variety of fauna species, including several