Ribbon Gum, Mountain Gum, Snow Gum Grassy Forest/Woodland of the New England Tableland Bioregion - profile

Conservation status in NSW: Endangered Ecological Community

Description

Ribbon Gum - Mountain Gum - Snow Gum Grassy Forest/Woodland of the New England Tableland Bioregion is characterised by a tree layer usually 20 metres tall, reaching up to 30 metres in resource-rich sites, but considerably shorter than 20 metres on exposed or damp sites or where past clearing has removed mature trees. Common overstorey species include Eucalyptus viminalis (Ribbon Gum), E. dalrympleana subsp. Heptantha (Mountain Gum), E. pauciflora (Snow Gum or White Sallee) and occasionally E. stellulata (Black Sallee). The understorey comprises a sparse layer of shrubs including Acacia dealbata, Pultenaea microphylla and Pimelea linifolia and a dense to very dense grassy ground cover dominated by Poa sieberiana var. sieberiana, P.labillardieri var. labillardieri, Themeda australis and Elymus scaber with herbs such as Acaena spp. Ammobium alatum, Asperula conferta, Geranium solanderi, Ranunculus lappaceus and numerous other species. Ribbon Gum - Mountain Gum - Snow Gum Grassy Forest/Woodland of the New England Tableland Bioregion provides important habitat for the nationally vulnerable plant species Thesium australe (Austral Toadflax).

Location and habitat

Distribution
 Ribbon Gum - Mountain Gum - Snow Gum Grassy Forest/Woodland of the New England Tableland Bioregion is currently known from parts of the Local Government Areas of Armidale Dumaresq, Bellingen, Clarence Valley, Glen Innes Severn, Guyra, Inverell, Tenterfield, Uralla and Walcha but may occur elsewhere in this bioregion. Ribbon Gum - Mountain Gum - Snow Gum Grassy Forest/Woodland of the New England Tableland Bioregion may co-occur with White Box Yellow Box Blakely's Red Gum Woodland, also listed under the Threatened Species Conservation Act. The two Endangered Ecological Communities may intergrade where they adjoin and in intermediate habitats such as occur in the vicinity of Armidale. All intermediate assemblages are collectively included within the two communities.

• Throughout the range of this community most of the understorey is highly modified, with many weeds present and a reduced native species richness.
• An unknown area persists as native grassland where the woody component of the community has been eliminated by clearing. Of the area still wooded, much is regrowth after clearing or has had its understorey adversely affected by grazing or weed invasion.

Regional information
This species is found in the following catchment management authority regions. Click on a region name to see more details about the distribution, vegetation types and habitat preference of the species in that region.

• Border Rivers/Gwydir
• Hunter/Central Rivers
• Namoi
• Northern Rivers

Threats

• The remaining stands are severely fragmented by past clearing and further threatened by continuing fragmentation and degradation and invasion by introduced species.
• Grazing pressure within remnant stands may be intense at certain times and high frequency (in some cases, annual) fires are a common management practice, leading to reduced understorey diversity.
• Most remnants are in poor condition, with some of the best examples now found along roadsides where they are often susceptible to gradual attrition due to road maintenance activities.
• The community is also poorly represented in conservation reserves with only 17 hectares represented in Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve.

Recovery strategies

Priority actions are the specific, practical things that must be done to recover a threatened species, population or ecological community. The Department of Environment and Conservation has identified 1 priority actions to help recover the Ribbon Gum, Mountain Gum, Snow Gum Grassy Forest/Woodland of the New England Tableland Bioregion in New South Wales.

What needs to be done to recover this species?

• Ensure remnants remain connected or linked to each other; in cases where remnants have lost connective links, re-establish them by revegetating sites to act as stepping stones for fauna, and flora (pollen and seed dispersal).
• Manage stock to reduce grazing pressure in high quality remnants and develop more sustainable fire regimes.
• Mark remnants onto maps (of the farm, shire, region, etc) and use to plan activities (e.g. remnant protection, rehabilitation or road, rail and infrastructure maintenance work). On-site markers can alert maintenance staff to the presence of a threatened species.

References

• Benson J.S. and Ashby .M. (2000) The natural vegetation of the Guyra 1:100 000 map sheet, New England Tableland Bioregion of New South Wales. Cunninghamia 6, 747-872.
• NSW Scientific Committee (2005) Ribbon gum - mountain gum - snow gum grassy forest/woodland of the New England Tableland Bioregion - endangered ecological community determination - final. DEC (NSW), Sydney.