Commonwealth of Australia

Amendment to the list of threatened species, threatened ecological communities and key threatening processes under sections 178, 181 and 183 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EC131)

I, JOSH FRYDENBERG, Minister for the Environment and Energy, pursuant to paragraph 184(1)(a) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, hereby amend the list referred to in section 181 of that Act by:

including in the list in the endangered category

Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain ecological community

as described in the Schedule to this instrument.

Dated this…...........26.............................day of….................August...........................2016

[signed]

JOSH FRYDENBERG

Minister for the Environment and Energy

SCHEDULE

Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain

The Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain ecological community occurs in southwestern Western Australia. It primarily occurs in the Swan Coastal Plain (SWA) bioregion, which covers the coastal plain from around Jurien Bay south, through Perth, to around Dunsborough, and also the Dandaragan Plateau. Some patches extend onto adjacent areas of the neighbouring Jarrah Forests (JAF) bioregion. (Bioregions at the time of listing are based on Interim Biogeographical Regionalisation of Australia (IBRA) version 7).

The ecological community typically occurs on well drained, low nutrient soils on sandplain landforms, particularly deep Bassendean and Spearwood sands and occasionally on Quindalup sands; and is also common on sandy colluvium and aeolian sands of the Ridge Hill Shelf, Whicher Scarp and Dandaragan Plateau.

The structure of the ecological community is a low woodland to forest.

The canopy of low trees (occasionally large shrubs more than 2 metres tall) must include one or more of the following Banksia species:

        Banksia attenuata (candlestick banksia);

        Banksia menziesii (firewood banksia);

        Banksia prionotes (acorn banksia); and/or

        Banksia ilicifolia (holly-leaved banksia).

The canopy is most commonly dominated or co-dominated by Banksia attenuata (candlestick banksia, slender banksia) and/or B. menziesii (firewood banksia). Other Banksia species that dominate in some examples of the ecological community are B. prionotes (acorn banksia) or B.ilicifolia (holly-leaved banksia).

Other trees of a medium height that may be present, and may be codominant with the Banksia species across a patch, include Eucalyptus todtiana (blackbutt, pricklybark), Nuytsia floribunda (Western Australian Christmas tree), Allocasuarina fraseriana (western sheoak), Callitris arenaria (sandplain cypress), Callitris pyramidalis (swamp cypress) and Xylomelum occidentale (woody pear).

Emergent trees of medium or tall (>10 m) height may sometimes be present above the Banksia canopy and often include Corymbia calophylla (marri), Eucalyptus gomphocephala (tuart) and/or E. marginata (jarrah).

The understorey typically contains a high to very high diversity of shrub and herb species that often varies in species composition from patch to patch.  The shrubs are typically sclerophyllous species of various heights. The ground layer may comprise various species of cord rushes, sedges, perennial and ephemeral forbs and, sometimes, grasses.

The ecological community provides habitat to a variety of fauna species, including nationally threatened species such as Carnaby’s black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris).