Appendix 2 - Vegetation Communities and Regional Ecosystems

Vegetation Community 14t/16c: This VC is represented on Moa Island as a component of dune
complex type 16c (Site MO118), as well as a number of examples mapped individually on
Muralug Island (PWO47). The community represents a sparse shrubland with dominant species
including Cochlospermum gillivraei, Canarium australianum, Eugenia reinwardtiana,
Terminalia subacroptera with Pandanus sp. dominating in some areas. In the complex type 16c,
the shrubland component occupies dune crests, separated by Melaleuca saligna/Melaleuca
acacioides open forest in narrow dune swales. The community is represented in Photograph 36.
Photograph 36. Shrubland VC14t
occupying beach ridges on Moa
Island at site MOQ118.
Vegetation Community 14v: Shrubland community 14v is confined to Naghir Island where it
manifests on exposed crests of aeolian dunes. Shrubs are generally low and sparse, dominated by
Grevillea parallela, Acacia crassicarpa, Acacia polystachya, Terminalia subacroptera,
Exocarpos latifolius and occasionally Eucalyptus leptophleba over a ground cover of
Heteropogon triticeus and the exotic Hyptis suaveolens. A similar shrubland forms a component
of VC16e on the aeolian dune system of Friday Island. The shrubland is represented in
Photograph 37, taken at Site NAQ9. Due to its considerable departure from the RE3.2.25 type
description, the inclusion of this community as an RE subtype should be considered. Disjunct
populations of Eucalyptus leptophleba on Naghir represent the northern limit of the species
geographical range.
Photograph 37. Shrubland type
VC14v on exposed crests of aeolian
dunes on Naghir Island (NAQ9). The
dominant shrub in this location is
Eucalyptus leptophleba.
.
3d Environmental – Torres Strait Regional Ecosystem Mapping Project – August 2008
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