Regional ecosystem details for 12.1.1
| Regional ecosystem | 12.1.1 |
|---|---|
| Vegetation Management Act class | Of concern |
| Wetlands | Intertidal |
| Biodiversity status | Of concern |
| Subregion | 4, 10, 8, 9, (3), (2), (7) |
| Estimated extent1 | Pre-clearing 5000 ha; Remnant 2021 3000 ha |
| Short description | Casuarina glauca woodland on margins of marine clay plains |
| Structure code | Woodland |
| Description | Casuarina glauca open forest to low open woodland. Occurs on margins of Quaternary estuarine deposits. Intertidal. (BVG1M: 28a). |
| Supplementary description | Ryan, T.S. (ed.) (2012), Bean et al. (1998), A2 |
| Protected areas | Southern Moreton Bay Islands NP, Great Sandy CP, Pumicestone NP, Great Sandy NP, Bribie Island NP, Burrum Coast NP, Eurimbula NP, Curtis Island CP, Eurimbula RR, Eudlo Creek CP, Curtis Island NP, Coombabah Lake CP, Coolum Creek CP, Mouth of Baffle Creek C |
| Special values | 12.1.1: Provides estuarine wetland habitat. |
| Fire management guidelines | SEASON: Early winter or storm burning seasons. INTENSITY: Low to moderate. INTERVAL: Aim for a 6-7 year minimum threshold at a broad scale planning level. INTERVAL_MIN: 6. INTERVAL_MAX: 50. STRATEGY: Aim to retain at least 25-50% unburnt in any given year. This RE needs disturbance to maintain structure. Use fire to reduce opportunistic native (Allocasuarina spp.) or weed species dominance. Active fire management is required to reduce the accumulation of a significant dry fuel layer. Burns planned in surrounding REs should account for the disturbance requirements of this fringing vegetation. ISSUES: The fire ecology of this regional ecosystem is poorly known. Monitoring the impact of fire and recovery of the ecosystem's component species is highly desirable. A long fire interval could increase fire intensity when fire occurs, thus detrimentally affecting the tree layer. Recovery should be relatively quick (approximately 10 years to a woodland/open forest community). A 'grassy' ecosystem might be lost if fire is excluded or too frequent (<2 years). Signs of problems in this community might include the regeneration of 'whipstick' communities and/or the presence of weeds (such as lantana). Fire exclusion and buffering from fire is not necessary. Where obligate seeding allocasuarinas are present in the under- and mid-storeys, fires causing 100% leaf scorch will kill these trees; therefore fires of this intensity should be avoided. A 6 to 7 year minimum fire interval is required for obligate seeding allocasuarinas and casuarinas. |
| Comments | 12.1.1: Patches often too small to map at 1:100 000. Infrequently tidally inundated. This RE occupies a very small niche at upper end of tidal zone. |
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.
