Declared Rare and Poorly Known Flora in the Geraldton District

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION1. The Need For ManagementWestern Australia has a unique flora world renowned for its diversity and high level of endemism. WACENSUS, thedatabase of plant names for the State, lists 12 306 current taxa (species, subspecies, varieties and phrase-names)(January 1997), with the total likely to exceed 13 000 once botanists have completed surveying, searching anddescribing the flora. A significant proportion of the Western Australian total is concentrated in the south-west of theState, where there is also a large number of endemics due to a long history of isolation and climatic and geologicalstability (Hopper 1979). According to Briggs and Leigh (1996) the State has 45.9 percent of the Australian total ofthreatened, rare or poorly known plant species, with 79 percent restricted to the south-west. Nearly 2 000 WesternAustralian taxa are currently listed as threatened or have been placed on the Department of Conservation and LandManagement’s (CALM) Priority Flora List because they are rare or poorly known (K. Atkins, personalcommunication).Although some plants are rare because of their requirement for a specific restricted habitat, the majority have becomerare or threatened because of the activities of humans. Extensive land clearing and modification of the environment hasresulted in the extinction of some species and threatens the survival of many others. Continued land clearing, plantdiseases (particularly due to Phytophthora species), exotic weeds and pests, road works, urbanisation, grazing bydomestic stock and increasing salinity continue to threaten the flora.The State Conservation Strategy, Wildlife Conservation Act 1950, and Conservation and Land Management Act 1984provide the guidelines and legislative basis for the conservation of the State's indigenous plant and animal species.CALM is responsible for the administration of the Wildlife Conservation Act, and hence, is responsible for theprotection and conservation of flora and fauna on all lands and waters throughout the State. Section 23F of the Actgives the Minister responsible for the Act statutory responsibility for the protection of those plant taxa declared to berare (i.e. threatened taxa).This Wildlife Management Program collates the available biological and management information on the Declared RareFlora, and Priority One, Two and Three (poorly known) taxa of CALM's Geraldton District, as at 21 October 1996. In1996, 302 extant taxa were classified as Declared Rare Flora and a further 27 species were listed on the Schedule asPresumed Extinct. In addition to those that were declared rare, 1 639 taxa were listed on CALM's Priority Flora List asat October 1996. The majority of these taxa require further detailed survey to accurately assess their conservation statuswhile others are rare, but not currently threatened, and require ongoing monitoring. Brown et al. (1998) provideillustrations of Declared Rare Flora as at 1998, discuss the conservation of Western Australia's threatened species andreview the relevant legislation, and the policy, research and management activities of CALM.The Geraldton District covers some 137 338 km 2 of which some has been cleared for agriculture on the south-westernside. Figure 1 shows the location of the Geraldton District in relation to the CALM Management Regions of the State.2. Objective of the ProgramThe objective of this program for the Geraldton District is:To ensure and enhance, by appropriate management, the continued survival in the wild of populations of Declared RareFlora and other plants in need of special protection.It aims to achieve this by:providing a useful reference for CALM staff and other land managers for the day-to-day management andprotection of Declared Rare Flora populations and populations of other taxa which are poorly known and may beat risk;directing Departmental resources within the Region to those species most urgently in need of attention;11