List of Threatened Ecological Communities Amendment (EC78) Instrument 2021 (Cth)

Commonwealth of Australia

List of Threatened Ecological Communities Amendment (EC78) Instrument 2021

I, SUSSAN LEY, Minister for the Environment, pursuant to paragraph 184(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 of threatened ecological communities in the critically endangered category:

Tasmanian white gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) wet forest

as described in the Schedule to this instrument.

This instrument commences the day after registration.

Sussan Ley

................................................................................... Sussan Ley Minister for the Environment

Dated ................3/9/21 ........................

SCHEDULE

Tasmanian white gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) wet forest

The Tasmanian white gum wet forest is a type of eucalypt forest that is found in all Tasmanian bioregions, but mainly within the Northern Slopes and Ben Lomond bioregions in the north of the state. It typically occurs on moderately fertile to fertile well-drained soils. It occurs where fire is normally infrequent and rainfall is high. It is usually found in areas where average annual rainfall exceeds 1000mm, though may also occur in drier areas with reliable water supplies, such as river gullies.

Tasmanian white gum wet forest is a wet eucalypt forest, with either a wet sclerophyll or mixed forest understorey. It typically has a tall open forest structure, with a canopy dominated by tall eucalypts over a secondary tree layer and usually broad-leaf shrubs, ferns and graminoids.

The canopy of this ecological community is dominated by white gum (Eucalyptus viminalis). Other canopy species often present include stringybark (E. obliqua) and gum-topped stringybark (E. delegatensis), with giant ash (E. regnans) in the north-east and black gum (E. ovata) in poorly drained sites. Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) and silver wattle (A. dealbata) are widespread secondary tree species in wet sclerophyll forest, and are successively replaced by rainforest trees, predominantly myrtle beech (Nothofagus cunninghamii) and sassafras (Atherosperma moschatum), in mixed forest.