Regional ecosystem details for 3.3.27
| Regional ecosystem | 3.3.27 |
|---|---|
| Vegetation Management Act class | Of concern |
| Wetlands | Not a Wetland |
| Biodiversity status | Of concern |
| Subregion | 2, 3, (5), (7.9) |
| Estimated extent1 | Pre-clearing 9000 ha; Remnant 2021 8000 ha |
| Short description | Corymbia nesophila +/- Erythrophleum chlorostachys +/- Eucalyptus tetrodonta woodland on alluvial plains |
| Structure code | Woodland |
| Description | Corymbia nesophila woodland +/- Erythrophleum chlorostachys +/- Eucalyptus tetrodonta. A very sparse to sparse subcanopy often contains canopy species +/- Acacia flavescens +/- Grevillea glauca +/- Livistona muelleri. The absent to mid-dense shrub layer is usually dominated by juvenile canopy species +/- A. crassicarpa+/- Xanthorrhoea johnsonii. Dominants in the sparse to mid-dense groundlayer can include Heteropogon triticeus, Lomandra spp., Eriachne pallescens and Mnesithea rottboellioides. Mainly occurs on alluvial plains and moist alluvial fans of sandstone ranges. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 14c). Vegetation communities in this regional ecosystem include: 3.3.27a: [RE not in use]²: This vegetation community is now mapped as 3.3.27. Corymbia nesophila (Melville Island bloodwood) dominates the sparse canopy. Eucalyptus crebra (narrow-leaved ironbark) may be present as a subdominant canopy tree. A number of other Eucalyptus spp. or Corymbia spp. may form minor components of the canopy. E. brassiana (Cape York red gum) may occurs as a codominant canopy species at some sites. The very sparse sub-canopy tree layer is dominated by C. nesophila, Acacia flavescens (powder puff wattle), Lophostemon suaveolens (swamp mahogany) and Grevillea glauca (bushman's clothes peg). The shrub layer is very sparse. Acacia flavescens, Erythrophleum chlorostachys (Cooktown ironwood), C. nesophila and Persoonia falcata (geebung) are the most frequently encountered species. The ground layer varies from sparse to mid-dense. The dominant grasses are Themeda triandra (kangaroo grass), Eriachne pallescens (wanderrie grass), Aristida sp. (three-awned speargrass) and Heteropogon triticeus (giant speargrass). Common forbs include Spermacoce spp., Cyanthillium cinereum and Flemingia parviflora (flemingia). Mainly occurs on floodplains. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 14c). 3.3.27b: [RE not in use]²: This vegetation community is now mapped as 3.3.27. Corymbia nesophila (Melville Island bloodwood) dominates the sparse canopy (12-28m tall). Eucalyptus brassiana (Cape York red gum) and E. tetrodonta (Darwin stringybark) may often form minor components of the canopy. C. clarksoniana (Clarkson's bloodwood) was codominant at one site examined. The very sparse to sparse sub-canopy tree layer (4-18m tall) is dominated by Livistona muelleri (dwarf fan palm), Melaleuca viridiflora (broad-leaved teatree), Acacia flavescens (powderpuff wattle), C. clarksoniana and Grevillea glauca (bushman's clothes peg). Acacia flavescens, C. nesophila and M. viridiflora the most frequent species in the very sparse shrub layer (0.3-2m tall). The ground layer is sparse to mid-dense. A variety of grasses, including Eriachne pallescens (wanderrie grass), Heteropogon triticeus (giant speargrass), Imperata cylindrica (blady grass) and Themeda triandra (kangaroo grass) dominate this layer. Mainly occurs on moist alluvial fans of sandstone ranges and alluvial plains. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 14c). 3.3.27c: [RE not in use]²: This vegetation community is now mapped as 3.3.31a. Woodland dominated by Eucalyptus tetrodonta (Darwin stringybark) and/or Corymbia nesophila (Melville Island bloodwood) +/- E. leptophleba (Molloy red box) +/- E. cullenii (Cullen's ironbark) +/- Brachychiton diversifolius. Scattered specimens of C. clarksoniana (Clarkson's bloodwood) and Erythrophleum chlorostachys (Cooktown ironwood) are usually present. A very sparse to open lower tree layer often contains Acacia leptocarpa (wattle), Grevillea glauca (clothespeg Grevillea), G. parallela (silver oak), Melaleuca viridiflora (broad-leaved teatree) and Parinari nonda (nonda plum). The absent to sparse shrublayer may contain very scattered tree layer species. The sparse to dense grassy ground layer is dominated by Schizachyrium fragile (firegrass) +/- Alloteropsis semialata (cockatoo grass) +/- Eriachne spp. Occurs on alluvial plains. Occurs on alluvial plains. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 14b). |
| Protected areas | Cape Melville NP (CYPAL), Biniirr NP (CYPAL), Juunju Daarrba Nhirrpan NP (CYPAL) |
| Special values | 3.3.27: Potential habitat for NCA listed species: Habenaria vatia. |
| Fire management guidelines | SEASON: Commence planned burns early in the dry season, after the wet season when dry enough to burn. Use occasional storm burns but generally avoid periods of extremely hot, dry conditions. INTENSITY: Low to moderate with occasional high during storm burns. INTERVAL: 1-3 years. INTERVAL_MIN: 1. INTERVAL_MAX: 3. STRATEGY: Apply a mosaic across the landscape at a range of intervals to create varying stages of post-fire response. Burn 30-60% at the property level. ISSUES: To mitigate against the impact of late dry season fires, commence burning early in the season and continue through the dry to break up continuity of fuels across the landscape. These communities require particular management attention due to issues of grazing, weed invasion, rapid fuel accumulation, poor access and woody thickening. Fuel can reach maximum accumulation in 2 years. |
| Comments | 3.3.27: RE 3.3.26 was amalgamated into this RE. Occurs throughout the bioregion. 3.3.27a: In the south-east around Cooktown and inner Torres Strait islands. 3.3.27b: In the south-east south of Mt. Webb National Park. 3.3.27c: Occurs throughout the bioregion on alluvial plains. |
1 Estimated extent is from version 13.1 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.
2 Superseded: Revision of the regional ecosystem classification removed this regional ecosystem code from use. It is included in the regional ecosystem description database because the RE code may appear in older versions of RE mapping and the Vegetation Management regulation.
