Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest - profile

Scientific name: Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest in the Sydney Basin bioregion 
 Conservation status in NSW: Critically Endangered Ecological Community

Description

Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest has an open tree canopy with Eucalyptus racemosa (Scribbly Gum), Angophora costata (Smooth-barked Apple), Corymbia gummifera (Red Bloodwood), Syncarpia glomulifera (Turpentine) and Eucalyptus piperita (Sydney Peppermint). Allocasuarina littoralis (Black Sheoak) and Glochidion ferdinandi (Cheese Tree) may be present in the subcanopy. There is a prominent stratum of shrubs, which typically include Dodonaea triquetra (Hopbush), Platylobium formosum, Persoonia levis (Broad-leaved Geebung), Polyscias sambucifolia (Elderberry Panax), Breynia oblongifolia (Coffee Bush), Leptospermum polygalifolium (Lemon-scented Tea-tree), Banksia spinulosa var. collina (Hill Banksia), Epacris pulchella, Grevillea linearifolia and Lomatia silaifolia (Crinkle Bush). The groundcover comprises herbs, scramblers, grasses, sedges and ferns, including Billardiera scandens (Appleberry), Cassytha glabella, Dianella caerulea (Blue Flax Lily), Entolasia stricta (Wiry Panic), Lepidosperma laterale, Pratia purpurascens (Whiteroot), Pteridium esculentum (Bracken), Smilax glyciphylla (Sweet Sarsaparilla) and Tetrarrhena juncea (Wire Grass)

Location and habitat

Distribution
 Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest has been recorded from the local government area of Gosford within the Sydney Basin Bioregion, (sensu Thackway and Creswell 1995) and may occur elsewhere in the Bioregion. Bell (2004) estimated the total remaining area of Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest to be c. 80 ha. The entire known distribution is within an area of 4 km2. The geographic distribution of the community is therefore very highly restricted.

• Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest was originally described by Bell (2004; Unit E102). In a survey of the Lower Hunter-Central Coast Region, vegetation referable to Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest was classified as part of a broader map unit, ‘Coastal Narrabeen Shrub Forest” (Unit E22), defined by (NPWS 2000). An analysis of all available plot data shows that Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest is distinct from other vegetation types in the region (Mackenzie and Keith 2007). The relationship of Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest to broader map units defined in McCauley’s (2006) regional study is uncertain. Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest belongs to the Sydney Coastal Dry Sclerophyll Forests vegetation class of Keith (2004), although it includes some mesophyllous shrubs, as well as grasses and herbs, which typically are not common components of that class.

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.

• Hunter/Central Rivers

Threats

• Clearing and fragmentation of Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest is highly likely, given the rapidly growing population and demand for land on the Central Coast of NSW
• Intensifying urban and industrial land uses in the area surrounding Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest exposes the community to increased risks of degradation. Processes associated with degradation of urban bushland include weed invasion (Bell 2004), altered fire regimes, rubbish dumping and heavy recreational use
• Very highly restricted distribution suggests that it is likely to have been fragmented by clearing activity in the past

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 8 priority actions to help recover the Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest in New South Wales.

References

• Bell SAJ (2004) ‘The natural vegetation of Gosford Local Government Area, Central Coast, New South Wales: Part 1 - Technical Report.’ Report to Gosford City Council. Keith DA (2004) ‘Ocean shores to desert dunes: the native vegetation of New South Wales and the ACT.’ NSW Department of Environment and Conservation, Sydney. Mackenzie BDE, Keith DA (2007) ‘Assessment of Kincumber Scribbly Gum Forest for listing as a threatened ecological community under the Threatened Species Conservation Act.’ Report to the NSW Scientific Committee, Sydney. McCauley A (2006) ‘Vegetation Survey and Mapping of the Hunter, Central and Lower North Coast Region of NSW.’ A report prepared for the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority by the HCCREMS team at the Environment Division of Hunter Councils Inc., NSW. NPWS (2000) ‘Vegetation Survey, Classification and Mapping: Lower Hunter and Central Coast Region.’ A project undertaken for the Lower Hunter and Central Coast Regional Environmental Management Strategy. Rivers Catchment Management Authority undertaken by the CRA Unit, Sydney Zone. Thackway R, Creswell ID (1995). An Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia: a framework for establishing the national system of reserves, Version 4.0. (Australian Nature Conservation Agency: Canberra).