Map Unit Profiles

Please refer to sections 2.4.3 Vegetation Map Unit Descriptions and 4.3 Map Unit Profiles and Field Identification before interpreting the Community Profiles

 

Map Unit Index

Map Unit

Title

Canopy Label

MU

1

Coastal Wet Gully Forest

S. glomulifera / E. saligna / Acmena smithii / Guioa semiglauca

MU

1a

Coastal Warm Temperate- Subtropical Rainforest

Acmena smithii / Guioa semiglauca / S. glomulifera / E. saligna

MU

2

Sandstone Ranges Warm Temperate Rainforest

Acmena smithii / Ceratopetalum apetalum / Doryphora sassafras

MU

3

Hunter Valley Dry Rainforest

Ficus rubiginosa / Streblus brunonianus / C. maculata

MU

3a

Dry Rainforest Canopy Dominant

Ficus rubiginosa / Streblus brunonianus / Backhousia myrtifolia

MU

4

Littoral Rainforest

Cupaniopsis anarcardiodes / Syzygium paniculatum / Glochidion ferdinandi

MU

5

Alluvial Tall Moist Forest

E. saligna / S. glomulifera / Glochidion ferdinandi

MU

6

Coastal Narrabeen Moist Forest

S. glomulifera / E. saligna / E. acmenoides

MU

7

Sheltered Rough Barked Apple Forest

A. floribunda / S. glomulifera / E. deanei

MU

8

Sheltered Blue Gum Forest

E. deanei / S. glomulifera / A. floribunda

MU

9

Coastal Ranges Open Forest

S. glomulifera / E. pilularis / A. foribunda / E. deanei / E. saligna

MU

10

Sandstone Grey Myrtle Sheltered Forest

S. glomulifera / Backhousia myrtifolia

MU

11

Coastal Sheltered Apple - Peppermint Forest

A. costata / E. piperita

MU

12

Hunter Valley Moist Forest

C. maculata / E. punctata

MU

13

Central Hunter Riparian Forest

E. tereticornis /Ê C. glauca / A. floribunda

MU

14

Wollombi Redgum - River Oak Forest

A. floribundaÊ / Casuarina cunninghamiana subsp cunninghamiana

MU

15

Coastal Foothills Spotted Gum - Ironbark Forest

C. maculata / E.Ê umbra / E. siderophloia

MU

16

Seaham Spotted Gum Iron Bark Forest

C. maculata / E. crebra / E. punctata / E. fibrosa

MU

17

Lower Hunter Spotted Gum - Ironbark Forest

C. maculata / E. fibrosa / E. punctata

MU

18

Central Hunter Ironbark -Spotted Gum - Grey Box Forest

E. crebra / C. maculata / E. molucanna

MU

19

Hunter Lowlands Redgum Forest

E. tereticornis / E. punctata / E. crebra / A. floribunda / C. maculata

MU

20

Dharug Roughbarked Apple Forest

A. floribunda / E. punctata / E. paniculata subsp paniculata / E. tereticornis

MU

21

Hunter Range Grey Gum Forest

E. punctata / A. costata / E. sparsifolia

MU

22

Coastal Narabeen Shrub Forest

A. costata / S. glomulifera / C. gummifera / E. pilularis

MU

23

Broken Back Grey Gum - Stringybark Forest

E. sparsifoliaÊ / E. punctata / E. eximia / A. costata / E. crebra

MU

24

McDonald Exposed Ironbark Woodland

E. crebra / A. costata / E. fibrosa / Podolobium ilicifolium

MU

25

Sheltered Dry Hawkesbury Woodland

A. costata / S. glomuliferaÊ / E. piperita / C. gummifera

MU

26

Exposed Hawkesbury Woodland

C. gummifera / E. haemastoma / A. costata

MU

26a

Heath

Leptospermum trinervium / Lambertia formosa / Banksia serrata

MU

27

Exposed Yellow Bloodwood Woodland

C. eximia / A. bakeri / Leptospermum trinervium

MU

28

Scribbly Gum - Dwarf Apple Woodland

E. haemastoma / A. bakeri / C. eximia

MU

28a

Dwarf Apple Scrub

Petrophile pulchella / Leptospermum trinervium / Banksia oblongifolia

MU

29

Hawkesbury Coastal Banksia Woodland

Banksia ericifolia / Hakea teretifolia / Angophora hispida

MU

29a

Scrub

Banksia ericifolia var ericifolia / Hakea teretifolia

MU

30

Coastal Plains Smooth-barked Apple Woodland

A. costata / C. gummifera / E. capitellata / E. umbra

MU

31

Coastal Plains Scribbly Gum Woodland

E. haemastoma / C. gummifera / E. capitellata / A. inopina

MU

32

Nerong Smooth Barked Apple Forest

A. costata / E. umbra / E. capitellata / E. pilularis / E. piperita

MU

32a

Scrub

Pultanaea villosa / Acacia myrtifolia

MU

33

Coastal Sand Apple-Blackbutt Forest

A. costata / E. pilularis / Banksia serrata

MU

34

Coastal Sand Wallum Woodland - Heath

Banksia aemula / C. gummifera / A. costata

MU

34a

Heath

Banksia aemula / Isopogon anemonifolius

MU

35

Kurri Sand Swamp Woodland

E. parramattensis subsp decadens / A. bakeri /Melaleuca nodosa

MU

36

Tomago Sand Swamp Woodland

E. parramattensis subsp decadens / Leptospermumn polygalifolium

MU

36a

Heath

Leptospermum polygalifolium / Melaleuca nodosa / Banksia oblongifolia

MU

37

Swamp Mahogany - Paperbark Forest

Melaleuca quinquinervia / E. robusta / C. glauca

MU

38

Redgum Rough Barked Apple Forest

E. tereticronis / A. floribunda / E. resinifera subsp resinifera

MU

39

Apple - Palm Gully Forest

Livistona australis / E. resinifera subsp resimifera / E. umbra

MU

40

Swamp Oak - Rushland Forest

C. glauca / Melaleuca ericifolia / Baumea juncea

MU

40a

Rushland

Phragmites autralis

MU

41

Swamp Oak Sedge Forest

Casuarina glauca / Melaleuca linariifolia / Carex appressa

MU

42

Riparian Melaleuca Swamp Woodland

Melaleuca sieberi / E. robusta

MU

42a

Melaleuca Scrub

Melaleuca sieberi / Gahnia clarkei

MU

43

Wyong Paperbark Swamp Forest

Melaleuca nodosa / E.longifolia /E.robusta /C.maculata

MU

43a

Melaleuca Scrub

Melaleuca nodosa

MU

44

Coastal Wet Sand Cyperoid Heath

M. quinquinervia / Callistemon pachyphyllus / Melaleuca sieberi

MU

45

Lepironia Swamp

Lepironia articulata / Lepidosperma concavum / Pseudanthus orientalis

MU

46

Freshwater Wetland Complex

ÊLudwigia peploides subsp montevidensis / Paspalum distichum / Eleocharis sphacelata / Juncus usitatus

MU

47

Mangrove-Estuarine Complex

Avicennia marina subsp australasica / Sarcocornia quinqueflora subsp quinqueflora / Aegiceras corniculatum

MU

47a

Saltmarsh

Sarcocornia quinqueflora subsp quinqueflora / Sporobolus virginicus

MU

48

Coastal Clay Heath

Allocasuarina distyla /Hakea dactyloides / Melaleuca nodosa

MU

49

Nelson Bay Shrub Heath

Melaleuca sieberi / Banksia oblongifolia

MU

50

Coastal Sand Scrub

Leptospermum laevigatum / Banksia integrifolia subsp integrifolia

MU

51

Coastal Headland Complex

Banksia integrifolia subsp integrifolia / Themeda australis

MU

52

Rocky Headland Scrub

Banksia serrata / A. costata / Melaleuca armillaris

MU

53

Beach Spinifex

Spinifex sericeus

MU

54

Sandstone Hanging Swamps and Heaths

Banksia oblongifolia / Schoenus brevifolius / Baumea rubiginosa

MU

Qa13

Closed Heath / Scrub (Ti-tree) (Payne, 1999)

Melaleuca ericifolia / Baumea articulata / Baumea rubiginosa

 

 

MU1 .ÊCoastal Wet Gully Forest

MU1a.ÊCoastal Warm Temperate ø Sub Tropical Rainforest

Canopy Label: Syncarpia glomulifera /E. saligna / Acmena smithii / Guioa semiglauca
No. Sites: 35
Structural Classification (Specht): Closed Forest-Tall Open ForestÊ

Description
Coastal Wet Gully Forest describes a complex of species rich forests dominated by warm temperate suballiances as identified by Floyd (1990); 37 (Ceratopetalum /Schizomeria /Acmena /Doryphora) and 42 (Acmena / Doryphora/ Dendrocnide / Ficus) and some influences of 14 (Doryphora-Daphnandra micrantha-Dendrocnide-Ficus-Toona). It is most often found in gullies and on lower slopes and underneath Narrabeen sandstone benches of the coastal range. It also occurs on the rich alluvial plains of the Yarramalong, Ourimbah and Mandalong Valleys.

This assemblage describes two distinct forest structures Closed Forest ( MU1a) and Tall Open Forest MU1. Analysis of floristic data did not distinguish separate assemblages based on the presence or absence of Eucalypts and Syncarpia above a rainforest canopy.Ê Over half of the sites describing this assemblage support tall emergents of Eucalyptus saligna and Syncarpia glomulifera above a distinctive rainforest canopy usually with a projected foliage cover greater than 70%. Available structural mapping based on aerial photo interpretation was inconclusive in the identification of this community. The identification of Map Unit 1a has been undertaken using a combination of data layers each using different and unknown criteria to map rainforest. At best this can be used to flag where rainforest species are likely to be dominant in the canopy.Ê

Variations within this group reflect distributional changes in soil fertility and rainfall. Where the rainfall decreases in the northwest Watagan Range and Broken Back range this warm temperate rainforest becomes significantly drier and increasingly restricted to the shelter of narrow gullies or creeklines. Here patches are often too small to map. Where soil fertility is greatest on the fine alluviumsof the Wyong Valleysubtropical elements such as palms and woody vines emerge.

The four forms that have been identified as having potential to form individual units are;

  1. Alluvial valleys of Wyong, Jilliby, Ourimbah ø These areas are clearly dominated by Acmena smithii, Cryprocarya glaucescens, Guioa semiglauca and can have emergent Eucalyptus saligna and a high abundance of Archontophoenix cunninghamianna where moisture and fire absence permit

  2. Wet Gullies of low quartz sands of the Watagan range and coastal range to Gosford- typically dominated by Acmena smithii, Doryphora sassafras, Ceratopetalum apetalum and can have emergent E. saligna.

  3. Gullies of low quartz sands Broken Back Range, Hunter Range and North West Watagans ø Typically dominated by Backhousia myrtifolia, Tristaniopsis laurina, Trochocarpa laurina, Dysoxylon fraserianum, with the most common emergent being Syncarpia glomulifera

  4. Permian sediments of the lower Hunter.ÊÊÊ Dysoxylon fraserianum, Diospyros australis, Dendrocnide excelsa. This group represents a combination of dry rainforest, with subtropical elements. Remnants of this form have been largely degraded and exist only as small isolated fragments.

Subtropical elements do not reach a dominance in any of the sites used to describe this assemblage however influences are clearly apparent.ÊÊÊ

This community relates to Map Unit 6: Coastal Narrabeen Moist Forest both through structural similarities and a sharing of species, the prime distinction between them is that Map Unit 6 contains a considerably less dense strata of rainforest species comprising warm temperate rather than sub tropical influences.Ê Map Unit 2: Sandstone Ranges Warm Temperate Rainforest is also closely related however Acmena smithii, Ceratopetalum apetalum and Doryphora sassafras dominate a more depauparate species assemblage.

Similar assemblages of species occur to the north of the Hunter River. Forest Ecosystem 137 Southern Wet Sydney Blue Gum (NPWS, 1999(a)) describes a community dominated by E. saligna with a dense understorey of comparable rainforest trees and shrubs. The northern ecosystem is limited to the southern and eastern foothills of Barrington Tops ranges. Patterns in rainforest are not modelled to provide fine scale identification of rainforest suballiances as described by Floyd (1990). However the subtropical elements of this Map Unit extend from Barrington Tops to the Illawarra and then to the Clyde Valley near BatemanÕs Bay (ibid). Similarly the warm temperate influenced elements extend from the Hunter River south to the Shoalhaven. Ê

Mean Species richness: 53.25 ± 17.4 (0.04 ha)

Vegetation Structure (n=20)

Stratum

Mean height (m)

Range (m)

Mean cover (%)

(sd)

n

Emergent

38.64

25

- 45

10.00

(5.9)

11

Tallest

24.50

10

- 35

70.75

(15.7)

20

Mid

6.55

1

- 15

34.55

(25.0)

11

Mid 1

12.25

5

- 15

45.63

(18.4)

8

Mid 2

2.50

1

- 3

21.88

(12.8)

8

Lowest

1.00

0

- 1

35.63

(25.6)

19

 

 

Diagnostic plant species

   

Within Community

Other Communities

Stratum

Species

Frequency

c/a

Frequency

c/a

Fidelity Class

Emergent

Syncarpia glomulifera

48%

2

17%

2

positive

 

Eucalyptus saligna

37%

3

3%

3

positive

 

Eucalyptus deanei

17%

2

4%

3

uninformative

 

Eucalyptus acmenoides

5%

2

3%

2

uninformative

 

Angophora floribunda

5%

2

14%

2

uninformative

 

Eucalyptus scias subsp scias

2%

3

1%

2

uninformative

 

Eucalyptus pilularis

2%

2

5%

3

uninformative

             

Tallest

Acmena smithii

94%

2

5%

2

positive

 

Guioa semiglauca

80%

2

2%

1

positive

 

Doryphora sassafras

62%

2

1%

3

positive

 

Cryptocarya glaucescens

54%

2

1%

1

positive

 

Ceratopetalum apetalum

45%

3

1%

2

positive

 

Cryptocarya microneura

45%

2

2%

1

positive

 

Backhousia myrtifolia

37%

4

8%

3

positive

 

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana

48%

2

0%

1

positive

 

Alectryon subcinereus

42%

2

1%

1

positive

 

Ficus coronata

57%

2

2%

1

positive

 

Caldcluvia paniculosa

5%

2

0%

0

positive

 

Sarcomelicope simplicifolia subsp simplicifolia

5%

2

0%

0

positive

 

Mischocarpus australis

2%

2

0%

0

positive

 

Synoum glandulosum

62%

1

3%

1

uninformative

 

Stenocarpus salignus

54%

1

1%

1

uninformative

 

Melicope micrococca

40%

1

2%

1

uninformative

 

Diospyros australis

42%

1

2%

1

uninformative

 

Planchonella australis

34%

3

0%

3

uninformative

 

Livistona australis

22%

1

3%

1

uninformative

             

Mid

Neolitsea dealbata

57%

2

1%

1

positive

 

Eupomatia laurina

54%

2

2%

1

positive

 

Trochocarpa laurina

48%

2

3%

1

positive

 

Symplocos thwaitesii

2%

1

0%

0

positive

 

Austromyrtus acmenoides

2%

1

0%

0

positive

 

Pisonia umbellifera

2%

1

0%

0

positive

 

Citriobatus pauciflorus

85%

1

4%

1

uninformative

 

Gymnostachys anceps

82%

1

5%

1

uninformative

 

Wilkiea huegeliana

57%

1

1%

1

uninformative

 

Claoxylon australe

51%

1

2%

1

uninformative

 

Psychotria loniceroides

42%

1

2%

1

uninformative

 

Tasmannia insipida

40%

1

0%

2

uninformative

             

Lowest(<1m)

Doodia aspera

62%

2

9%

2

positive

 

Pseuderanthemum variabile

54%

2

13%

2

positive

 

Lastreopsis microsora

51%

3

1%

2

positive

 

Adiantum formosum

45%

2

2%

2

positive

 

Polystichum australiense

45%

2

1%

2

positive

 

Adiantum silvaticum

40%

2

0%

2

positive

 

Blechnum cartilagineum

37%

2

6%

2

positive

 

Lastreopsis decomposita

37%

2

1%

2

positive

 

Oplismenus imbecillis

37%

2

12%

2

positive

 

Pollia crispata

14%

1

0%

0

positive

 

Asplenium attenuatum

5%

2

0%

0

positive

 

Lomandra spicata

5%

1

0%

0

positive

             

Vines and Epiphytes

Morinda jasminoides

88%

2

6%

1

positive

 

Cissus antarctica

68%

2

6%

1

positive

 

Cissus hypoglauca

57%

2

7%

1

positive

 

Ripogonum fawcettianum

51%

3

1%

1

positive

 

Pyrrosia rupestris

57%

2

2%

1

positive

 

Dendrobium tetragonum

5%

2

0%

0

positive

 

Bulbophyllum shepherdii

5%

2

0%

0

positive

 

Smilax australis

68%

1

11%

2

uninformative

 

Pandorea pandorana

62%

1

21%

1

uninformative

 

Asplenium australasicum

45%

1

0%

1

uninformative

 

Plectorrhiza tridentata

42%

1

1%

1

uninformative

 

 

Rare/endangered Species: Syzigium paniculatum

Top
Index
Next

 

 

 

Regional Biodiversity Conservation Strategy
     - User Guide
     - Local Government area Plant Species Lists
     - Module 1 Fauna Surveys
     - Comprehensive technical report
         * Acknowledgements
         * Method
         * Results
         * Discussion
         * References
         * Appendix A
               ~ Survey Form
         * Appendix B
         * Appendix C
         * Appendix D
              ~ Map Unit Profiles
         * Appendix E

 

Copyright 2003, Hunter Councils Inc as legal agent for the
Lower Hunter & Central Coast Regional Environmental Management Strategy