Regional ecosystem details for 11.1.2
| Regional ecosystem | 11.1.2 |
|---|---|
| Vegetation Management Act class | Least concern |
| Wetlands | Intertidal |
| Biodiversity status | No concern at present |
| Subregion | 14, 1, (2), (8.3), (8.5), (8.4) |
| Estimated extent1 | Pre-clearing 117000 ha; Remnant 2021 104000 ha |
| Short description | Samphire forbland on marine clay plains |
| Structure code | Open Succulent Shrubland |
| Description | Samphire forbland or bare mud-flats on Quaternary estuarine deposits. Mainly saltpans and mudflats with clumps of saltbush including one or several of the following species; Tecticornia spp. (e.g. Tecticornia indica subsp. julacea, Tecticornia indica subsp. leiostachya), Sesuvium portulacastrum, Salicornia quinqueflora subsp. Quinqueflora, Suaeda australis, S. arbusculoides, Tecticornia australasica, Salsola australis, algal crusts and the grass Sporobolus virginicus. Sedges are also common. Occurs on supratidal flats with deep saline clay soils and formed from Quaternary estuarine sediments. Occurs along the landward edge of the intertidal zone in a hypersaline environment that is only inundated by the highest spring tides. Soils are grey mottled clays with a crusting surface, and are highly saline. Intertidal. (BVG1M: 35b). Vegetation communities in this regional ecosystem include: 11.1.2a: Bare mud flats on Quaternary estuarine deposits, with very isolated individual stunted mangroves such as Avicennia marina and/or Ceriops australis. May have obvious salt crusts on the soil surface. Geologies mapped include Qhcm (Holocene mud and sandy mud), Qm (Quaternary coastal mud, silt and minor evaporites), Qhe/m (Holocene mud, sandy mud, muddy sand and minor gravel), Qhct (Holocene silt, mud and sand and minor salt) and Qpe (Pleistocene estuarine mud, sand). Intertidal. (BVG1M: 35b). 11.1.2b: Samphire forbland on Quaternary estuarine deposits. Mainly saltpans and mudflats with clumps of saltbush including one or several of the following species; Tecticornia spp. (e.g. Tecticornia indica subsp. julacea, Tecticornia indica subsp. leiostachya), Sesuvium portulacastrum, Salicornia quinqueflora subsp. Quinqueflora, Suaeda australis, S. arbusculoides, Tecticornia australasica, Scleria ciliaris, Marsilea mutica, Salsola australis, algal crusts and the grass Sporobolus virginicus. Sedges may be common. Geologies mapped include Qhcm (Holocene mud and sandy mud), Qm (Quaternary coastal mud, silt and minor evaporites), Qhe/m (Holocene mud, sandy mud, muddy sand and minor gravel), Qhct (Holocene silt, mud and sand and minor salt) and Qpe (Pleistocene estuarine mud, sand). Intertidal. (BVG1M: 35b). |
| Supplementary description | Christian et al. (1953), Littoral; Forster and Barton (1995), Carpentaria; Speck et al. (1968), Carpentaria (3,4); Bruinsma (2000); Byron and Hall (1998); Danaher (1995); Gunn and Nix (1977) LU 140 |
| Protected areas | Bowling Green Bay NP, Bowling Green Bay CP, Townsville Town Common CP, Wongaloo CP, MacKenzie Island CP, Cape Upstart NP, Broad Sound Islands NP, Shoalwater Bay CP, Keppel Sands CP, Newport CP, Charon Point CP, Rundle Range NP, Magnetic Island CP 1, Cause |
| Special values | 11.1.2: Provides estuarine wetland habitat. |
| Fire management guidelines | SEASON: Various. INTENSITY: Low. INTERVAL: Typically > every 4 years. Rubbervine or other weed control may require two fires within 2 or 3 years which should be followed by an absence of fire for > 5 years. INTERVAL_MIN: 4. INTERVAL_MAX: 50. STRATEGY: Do not actively target for burning, except for the control of rubbervine. Can tolerate being burnt when implementing fires in adjacent vegetation. ISSUES: Saltpan species, e.g. Sporobolus virginicus, Tecticornia indica and Suaeda australis can tolerate occasional fires, but do not require fire for recruitment. Tecticornia indica and Suaeda australis, should have long-term persistence. Only burn if required as part of burning adjacent vegetation or for rubbervine control. |
| Comments | 11.1.2a: Subject to modification/conversion to salt evaporation ponds in the Fitzroy River Delta with about 3000 ha in this locality converted to this use (Bruinsma 2000). More extensive in the hypersaline marine plains around Broadsound and the Fitzroy River Delta, in the south of the BBN bioregion. |
1 Estimated extent is from version 13 pre-clearing and 2021 remnant regional ecosystem mapping. Figures are rounded for simplicity. For more precise estimates, including breakdowns by tenure and other themes see remnant vegetation in Queensland.
