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Commonwealth of Australia

List of Threatened Ecological Communities Amendment (EC181) 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:

Grey box-grey gum wet forest of subtropical eastern Australia

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..........5th August 2022......................................

SCHEDULE 1

Grey box-grey gum wet forest of subtropical eastern Australia

Grey box-grey gum wet forest of subtropical eastern Australia is an assemblage of native plants, animals and other organisms constituting at maturity a type of tall open forest with a canopy dominated by Eucalyptus species with or without Araucaria cunninghamii (Hoop Pine) and with an understorey that typically includes significant cover of species with drier vine-forest (rainforest) affiliations.

The canopy contains Eucalyptus moluccana (grey box) and/or a grey gum species (E. propinqua (small-fruited grey gum)) and/or less commonly E. punctata (grey gum)). Other canopy species often present include E. siderophloia (grey ironbark) and/or Araucaria cunninghamii (hoop pine). In some areas, any of these canopy species may be locally dominant. Other tree species occur in the canopy less frequently.

Understorey species composition is highly variable, however vine forest affiliated species frequently include the small to medium-sized trees Psydrax odorata (shiny-leaved canthium), Denhamia bilocularis (orange bark) and Cupaniopsis parvifolia (small-leaved tuckeroo), the shrubs Psychotria daphnoides (smooth psychotria) and Alyxia ruscifolia (chain-fruit), the vines and lianas Celastrus subspicatus (large-leaved staff vine), Solori involuta (native derris) and Maclura cochinchinensis (cock-spur), the grasses and sedges Gahnia aspera (sword sedge), Cyperus gracilis (slender flat-sedge) and Ottochloa gracillima (pademelon grass). Ferns such as Doodia aspera (rasp fern) and Pellaea falcata (sickle fern) also occur. Relatively shade tolerant grass species including Oplismenus spp. (basket grasses) are often present whilst relatively shade intolerant grasses may occur where sufficient sunlight reaches the ground naturally or following disturbance.

Following disturbance or other temporary or localised variations in environmental conditions there may be areas of the understorey dominated by open grassy forest affiliated species. Examples of grassy open forest affiliated taxa occurring in recently disturbed areas in the understorey include juveniles of Eucalyptus spp. (eucalypts),  Acacia spp. (wattles), Allocasuarina torulosa (forest she-oak), Dodonaea viscosa (sticky hop-bush), Leucopogon ericoides (heath-leaved beard-heath), Leucopogon juniperinus (prickly beard-heath), Imperata cylindrica (blady grass), Aristida gracilipes (three-awn spear-grass), Poa labillardierei (tussock grass), Cymbopogon refractus (barbed-wire grass) and Glycine clandestine (twining glycine).

The ecological community is found predominately on the escarpment slopes and foothills of inland hinterland ranges in the north coast