Appendix 2 - Vegetation Communities and Regional Ecosystems

Photograph 120. Tall deciduous
vine forest community 2k at site
ER011 on Erub Island. The
prominent tree is Gyrocarpus
americanus.
Vegetation Community 2w: Deciduous vine thicket on basalt is characterised by VC2w,
occurring on both Erub and Mer Islands. A separate sub-typing of RE3.8.5c is used to describe
this distinctive community which is associated with exposed basaltic escarpments on Erub and
Maer Islands. The community forms a canopy with a height range of 6m to 8m that is typified by
species similar to VC2k described above. Besides an obvious difference in canopy height, the
distinction between VC2k and VC2w is also an ecological one, with VC2w typically on drier
sites such as steep exposed escarpments or as narrow attenuations upslope along gully lines
within broader grassland communities. Canopy species include Antiaris toxicaria var.
macrophylla, Garuga floribunda var. floribunda, Gyrocarpus americanus, Terminalia
subacroptera and scattered Bombax ceiba var. leiocarpum. The sparse sub-canopy comprises
Cleistanthus peninsularis, Drypetes deplanchei, Eugenia reinwardtiana, and Alectryon
repandodentatus (E). Ground cover comprises abundant slender vines and low shrubs which
form a sparse cover over a substrate typically composed of basalt talus.
Photograph 121. Vine thicket type
2w at site ER34 with the deciduous
nature of the canopy clearly evident.
Vegetation Community 15a: Vegetation community 15a represents a complex of vine thicket
and low open forest mapped on the steep south-eastern basaltic escarpment of Mer. The
components, which comprise vine thicket type 2w and an undescribed low open forest of
3d Environmental – Torres Strait Regional Ecosystem Mapping Project – August 2008
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