Appendix 2 - Vegetation Communities and Regional Ecosystems

Photograph 155. Shrubland
community 14f on Thursday Island.
Vegetation Community 14l: The inner islands of Zuna, Horn and Hammond host VC14l, which
similar to VC14a, occupies steep coastal headlands directly exposed to prevailing south-easterly
trade winds. The community is manifest as a low shrubland to shrubland, typically 1m to 1.5m
tall with an upper shrub layer composed of, in order of decreasing dominance, Melaleuca
viridiflora, Acacia brassii, Lithomyrtus retusa, Welchiodendron longivalve, Jacksonia thesioides,
Corymbia nesophila, Asteromyrtus symphyocarpa, Melaleuca stenostachya, Alyxia spicata,
Acacia simsii, Halfordia kendack, and Psydrax reticulata. This community is structurally similar
to VC14a although a more diverse upper stratum warrants recognition as an individual
community.
Photograph 156. Low windswept
shrubland community 14l on
exposed coastal escarpments of Zuna
Island.
Vegetation Community 14g: The shrubland complex 14g is most prominent on exposed granite
boulder footslopes on Dauan Island although a minor area has also been differentiated on Iama
Island. The upper stratum of this community forms a dense shrubby thicket that is generally
impenetrable, with a typical height of not greater than 1.5m. Species representative of the
dominant upper stratum (S1 layer) include Buchanania arborescens, Manilkara kauki, Alyxia
spicata and Pouteria sericea. On Iama, the unit includes coastal vine thicket species such as
3d Environmental – Torres Strait Regional Ecosystem Mapping Project – August 2008
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