Appendix 2 - Vegetation Communities and Regional Ecosystems

5.2.30 Regional Ecosystem 3.3.10
Description: Melaleuca argentea and/or M. fluviatilis ± M. leucadendra open forest. Fringes
streams and creeks.
Status: Not of Concern
Vegetation Communities: 3b, 3g, 5h, 7f, 14o
Reference Sites: 5 Quaternary
Vegetation Community 7f: The dominant component of this RE is VC7f representing an open
to tall open forest of Melaleuca leucadendra. It occurs commonly as a riparian fringe on major
drainage features, extending to broader flood overflow plains in some locations. On riparian
areas and associated overflow channels, Melaleuca leucadendra forms the canopy ranging in
height from 15m in poorly developed communities on Warral Island, to greater than 30m on welldrained
flood overflow channels on Muralug. Vegetation Community 7f is also represented by a
woodland variant extending away from the riparian margins across a silty flood plain (PW81).
This Melaleuca leucadendra dominant community has a mixed sub-canopy layer of which
Melaleuca saligna and Corypha utan are components. The occurrence of the latter species is a
significant extension of range north from the Dulhunty River (Forster 1996) although the most
northerly vouchered material at BRI is from near Aurukun (P. Forster pers. comm. March 2008).
It also occurs in the Northern Territory. Similar communities on drainage swamps are
represented as RE3.3.14b (VC7fs).
Photograph 68. Open forest of
Melaleuca leucadendra (VC7f) on
flood overflow of North-West Ck,
Muralug Island (PW58).
Photograph 69. Disjunct population
of Corypha utan forming a subcanopy
component of Melaleuca
leucadendra woodland (VC7f).
Muralug Island Site PW81.
3d Environmental – Torres Strait Regional Ecosystem Mapping Project – August 2008
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