Regional ecosystem details for 7.2.3
| Regional ecosystem | 7.2.3 |
|---|---|
| Vegetation Management Act class | Of concern |
| Wetlands | Not a Wetland |
| Biodiversity status | Of concern |
| Subregion | 3, 2, 1, 6, (7), (9), (8) |
| Estimated extent1 | Pre-clearing 12000 ha; Remnant 2021 7000 ha |
| Short description | Corymbia tessellaris and/or Acacia crassicarpa and/or C. intermedia and/or C. clarksoniana woodland to closed forest on beach ridges (predominantly Holocene) |
| Structure code | Woodland |
| Description | Corymbia tessellaris (Moreton Bay ash) and/or Acacia crassicarpa (beach wattle) and/or C. intermedia (pink bloodwood) and/or C. clarksoniana (Clarkson's bloodwood) woodland to closed forest. Beach ridges, predominantly of Holocene age. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 9e). Vegetation communities in this regional ecosystem include: 7.2.3a: Corymbia tessellaris, C. clarksoniana (and/or C. intermedia), Melaleuca dealbata +/- Lophostemon suaveolens woodland to closed forest, with Acacia mangium, A. crassicarpa, Canarium australianum and Deplanchea tetraphylla. Unweathered low prograding beach dunes, predominantly of Holocene age. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 9e). 7.2.3b: Corymbia tessellaris and Corymbia clarksoniana (or C. intermedia), woodland to open forest. Beach ridges, predominantly of Holocene age. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 9e). 7.2.3c: Corymbia tessellaris and Corymbia clarksoniana (or C. intermedia), woodland to open forest, with a very well-developed vine forest understorey (due to infrequent burning). Beach ridges, predominantly of Holocene age. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 9e). 7.2.3d: Corymbia intermedia open forest. Beach ridges, predominantly of Holocene age. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 9e). 7.2.3e: Corymbia intermedia open forest, with a very well-developed vine forest understorey (due to infrequent burning). Beach ridges, predominantly of Holocene age. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 9e). 7.2.3f: Acacia crassicarpa open to closed forest. Beach ridges, predominantly of Holocene age. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 28b). 7.2.3g: Corymbia clarksoniana woodland to open forest. Beach ridges, predominantly of Holocene age. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 9e). 7.2.3h: Corymbia tessellaris, Acacia crassicarpa, Melaleuca leucadendra and M. viridiflora woodland. Prograding dunes, often mixed with alluvium. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 9e). 7.2.3i: Acacia crassicarpa low closed forest (wind sheared). Foredunes. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 28b). 7.2.3j: Corymbia clarksoniana, C. tessellaris and Acacia crassicarpa woodland. Transported coastal cobble and boulder ridges. Not a Wetland. (BVG1M: 9e). |
| Supplementary description | Stanton and Stanton (2005), D117, D73, D73v, D74, D74v, D151, G43, D43, D88, D98, D104; Kemp and Morgan (1999), 6; Kemp et al. (1999), 6; Neldner and Clarkson (1995), 20, 53C, 55, 93, 193, 198; Tracey and Webb (1975), 17 (in part) |
| Protected areas | Girramay NP, Hinchinbrook Island NP, Gulngay NP, Paluma Range NP, Ella Bay NP, Kurrimine Beach NP, Hull River NP, Daintree NP (CYPAL), Russell River NP, Girringun NP, Halifax Bay Wetlands NP, Goold Island NP, Orpheus Island NP, Ngalba-bulal NP (CYPAL), Mo |
| Special values | 7.2.3: Potential habitat for NCA listed species: Acacia homaloclada. 7.2.3j: A very rare and unusual landform. |
| Fire management guidelines | SEASON: Begin burning at the end of the wet season and continue into early dry season, but avoid hot, dry season unless a high intensity fire is required to manage thickening, then undertake storm burn. f: Ignite multiple times over several months. Consider storm burns in years with abundant early rain. h: Early to mid-dry season in normal season (March-May). Early to late-season in wet year (March-Sep). INTENSITY: Low, with occasional moderate or high intensity to manage thickening and/or stimulate germination. h: Low to moderate. INTERVAL: 2-5 years. f. Strategy should aim to produce an effective burn every 2-5 years. h: 3-10 years. INTERVAL_MIN: 2. INTERVAL_MAX: 10. STRATEGY: 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. f: Ignite the landscape containing ridges and adjacent swales in most years while there is good soil moisture. Bloodwood and wattle forest areas that burnt in the previous year or two will not carry fire under mild, moist conditions. i,j: Do not burn deliberately. Limit fire encroachment from adjacent ecosystems by burning when conditions are favourable. Burn away from edges. h: 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. ISSUES: In the absence of fire an abundance of rainforest pioneers and bracken fern can establish. f: The absence of regular burning is associated with a subcanopy of rainforest species and/or vines (Alyxia spicata) and rainforest shrubs and senescing Xanthorrhoea johnsonii. Fires in dry conditions cause wattle coppice thickening and abundant Smilax vine. Monitoring by Williams and Addicot (2022 in litt.) indicates regular burning under moist conditions should help reduce wattle sucker and rainforest shrub and vine thickening. i,j: Most plant species in this ecosystem are fire sensitive. Inappropriate fire may affect sensitive trees (e.g., coastal she-oaks), remove habitat trees, remove structurally complex understorey or promote weed invasion and erosion. h: 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. |
| Comments | 7.2.3: Subject to encroachment by housing developments. Many areas in poor condition due to weed invasion and vehicular disturbance. 7.2.3a: Distributed along most sections of coastline in the bioregion. 7.2.3b: Distributed along most sections of coastline in the bioregion. 7.2.3c: This vegetation community may be considered a condition state - a low burning frequency has enabled encroachment by vine forest species. Distributed along most sections of coastline in the bioregion. 7.2.3d: Central wetter parts of the bioregion from approximately Cardwell to Cape Tribulation. 7.2.3e: This vegetation community may be considered a condition state - a low burning frequency has enabled encroachment by vine forest species. Central wetter parts of the bioregion from approximately Cardwell to Cape Tribulation. 7.2.3f: Scattered along the coast over most of the bioregion. 7.2.3g: Scattered along the coast over most of the bioregion. 7.2.3h: Rare, scattered along the coast, especially the Orient southeast of Ingham. 7.2.3i: Scattered along the coastal fringe of the bioregion. 7.2.3j: Restricted to the Palm Islands. |
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.
