Regional ecosystem details for 7.2.11
| Regional ecosystem | 7.2.11 |
|---|---|
| Vegetation Management Act class | Of concern |
| Wetlands | Contains Palustrine |
| Biodiversity status | Of concern |
| Subregion | 3, 2, (1), (9) |
| Estimated extent1 | Pre-clearing 2000 ha; Remnant 2021 1000 ha |
| Short description | Melaleuca viridiflora +/- Lophostemon suaveolens +/- emergent Eucalyptus spp. woodland to open forest, or Melaleuca viridiflora var. attenuata open forest to woodland, on swampy sand plains of beach origin |
| Structure code | Open Forest |
| Description | Melaleuca viridiflora (broad leaf tea tree) +/- Lophostemon suaveolens (swamp mahogany) +/- emergent Eucalyptus spp. woodland to open forest, or Melaleuca viridiflora var. attenuata open forest to woodland. Swampy sandplains of beach origin. Contains Palustrine. (BVG1M: 22b). Vegetation communities in this regional ecosystem include: 7.2.11a: Melaleuca viridiflora woodland to open forest. Swampy sandplains of beach origin. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 22b). 7.2.11b: Melaleuca viridiflora, and Lophostemon suaveolens woodland. Swampy sandplains of beach origin. Palustrine. (BVG1M: 22b). 7.2.11c: Melaleuca viridiflora, Lophostemon suaveolens and Allocasuarina littoralis open shrubland. Swampy sandplains of beach origin. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 22b). 7.2.11d: Complex of Melaleuca quinquenervia shrubland and open forest, and Melaleuca viridiflora, Lophostemon suaveolens and Allocasuarina littoralis woodland and open forest. Narrow linear sand ridges and perennially inundated swales with deep peat soils, of a former prograding shoreline in the Cowley Beach area. Palustrine. (BVG1M: 22a). 7.2.11e: Melaleuca viridiflora var. attenuata open forest and woodland. Swampy dune swales and sand plains. Palustrine. (BVG1M: 22b). 7.2.11f: Melaleuca quinquenervia and Melaleuca viridiflora grassy open woodland. Semi-permanent swamps of coastal sand plains with fibrous peat soils. Palustrine. (BVG1M: 22a). 7.2.11g: Corymbia clarksoniana, Eucalyptus platyphylla, Lophostemon suaveolens, E. drepanophylla and Melaleuca viridiflora open woodland. Sand plains. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 21a). 7.2.11h: Grassland, probably dominated by Imperata cylindrica (all extinct). Weathered relict beach ridges, well inland. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 32a). |
| Supplementary description | Stanton and Stanton (2005), D78, D41, D93, D282, D216, D83, D86, D118; Kemp and Morgan (1999), 11; Tracey and Webb (1975), 17 (in part) |
| Protected areas | Gulngay NP, Girramay NP, Girringun NP, Hinchinbrook Island NP |
| Special values | 7.2.11: Habitat for threatened species including Myrmecodia beccarii (ant plant) and Hypochrysops apollo apollo (apollo jewel butterfly). |
| Fire management guidelines | SEASON: Mid- to late dry season. b: Early to mid-dry season in normal season (March-May). Early to late-season in wet year (March-Sep). c,d: Late wet-early dry season. Consider storm burning in years with abundant early rain. g: Begin burning after the wet season (April-May), but avoid hot, dry season unless a high intensity fire is required to manage thickening, then undertake storm burn. INTENSITY: Low to moderate. g: Low, with occasional moderate or high intensity to manage thickening and/or stimulate germination. INTERVAL: 5-15 years. b: 3-10 years. c,d: Ignite the landscape containing swales in most years and while there is good soil moisture. Swale sections that burnt in the previous year or two will not carry fire under mild, moist conditions. This will produce a fire frequency in the vicinity of every 2 to 5 years. g: 2-5 years. INTERVAL_MIN: 2. INTERVAL_MAX: 15. STRATEGY: Allow fires in surrounding fire-adapted communities to burn into these melaleuca communities if the soil is moist. b: Patch burn (<30% of area) early in the dry season to limit the extent and intensity of wildfires. Fires may, depending on the conditions and type of vegetation, burn areas larger than just the melaleuca ecosystem. Ensure secure boundaries from non fire-regime adapted ecosystems. Use topography to restrict spread of fire. Consider the needs of melaleuca ecosystems based on understorey (i.e., heath dominated, sedge dominated or mixed grass/shrub) when planning burns. High soil moisture (or presence of water on the ground) is required, as avoidance of peat-type fires must be maintained. c,d: Ignite the area multiple times over several months. g: Mosaic burn 25-60%. Begin burning early in the fire season, with progressive patch fires burnt through the year. Stop burning when the network of fires and other breaks is sufficient to impede fire spread later in the year. Storm-burning may be used to add further diversity to fire mosaic, promote perennial grasses and arrest woody thickening. ISSUES: Burn more frequently if whipstick regeneration is an issue. Keep flame height low if ant plants are present. b: Restrict extent and intensity of fires. High intensity and extensive fires degrade vegetation structure and destroy animal habitats. Melaleuca forests are fire-adapted, but too high an intensity or frequent fire will slow or prevent regeneration and lead to lower species richness (since these communities contain numerous obligate seed regenerating species that require sufficient fire intervals to produce seed). High intensity fires may kill trees and lead to whipstick regeneration. Too frequent fire may result in a net loss of nutrients over time from an already nutrient poor system. Fire associations are significantly influenced by understorey composition. c,d: The guideline aims to reduce risk of fires occurring in very dry conditions and under hazardous fire weather, fanning high intensity fires which would damage paperbark canopies, ant plants and sedges, while potentially thickening with wattles that could shade out sedges and ant plants. Monitoring by Williams and Addicot (2022 in litt.) indicates regular active fire regime promotes burning under mild and moist conditions to maintain healthy ecosystem. g: In the absence of fire an abundance of rainforest pioneers (e.g., Melastoma spp., Chionanthus ramiflora, Mallotus philippensis, Alyxia spicata and Glochidion spp.) and bracken fern can establish. This development can be rapid (within about 15 years) after which system change is difficult to reverse. Thickening with rainforest species can be detrimental to habitat trees and endangered species (e.g., mahogany glider). Where fire is more common the understorey is usually dominated by tall grasses (e.g., Themeda triandra and Eriachne pallescens), herbaceous plants, lilies and sedges (e.g., Tricoryne anceps, Gonocarpus acanthocarpus, Lomandra longifolia, Dianella caerulea). h: These grasslands are dominated by fire tolerant Imperata cylindrica. |
| Comments | 7.2.11: Distributed patchily along most of the Wet tropics coast, best developed in the Tully subregion. 7.2.11d: Cowley Beach. 7.2.11h: This is a grassland on dunes which was discernable on old aerial photography but was all cultivated/cleared before the mapping was done. Originally of very limited extent, and now extinct. |
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.
