VOLUME 2: Vegetation Community Profiles - Coffs Harbour City ...

CH_SW03Floristic summaryLayer Height (m)* Cover (%)* Dominant SpeciesTallest 2-7 45 Casuarina glauca, Melaleuca quinquenerviaLower 1 0.5-4 35-70 Ficinia nodosa, Cladium procerum.Lower 2 0-1 30-65 Carex pumila, Hydrocotyle pedicellosa, Schoenus nitens.* Data collated from 3 of 3 full floristic sitesStructural and floristic variationsThis community occupies low-lying protected soak or swale habitats in Holocene dunes and can vary in structurefrom a shrubland with sedge components, to an open sedgeland. The shrubland variant typically has a lowcanopy of Swamp Oak (Casuarina glauca) and/or Broad-leaved Paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia) with a lowerlayer usually dominated by Carex pumila and Knobby Club-rush (Ficinia nodosa). Where the community forms anopen sedgeland, the dominant species are Shiny Bog-rush (Schoenus nitens), Knobby Club-rush (Ficinia nodosa)and Carex pumila.ExoticsSpecies richnessAndropogon virginicusNumber of plots 3Total species 12Average number of species 7 ±2Conservation statusThis community is reserved in Bongil Bongil National Park (1 ha) and Yuraygir National Park (9ha).TenureArea (ha)National Park 11TOTAL 11Endangered Ecological Community:Corner bioregionsCoastal saltmarsh in the NSW North Coast, Sydney Basin and South EastRelationship to other communitiesNot closely related to any other communities. Occurrences in dune systems are disjunct from other salinewetlands. The most related community floristically is CH_SW02 (Twig Rush Saltmarsh) which occurs mainly inestuaries and is dominated by Twig Rush (Baumea juncea).EquivalentsBiometric:Other:no equivalentCommunity 7 (Cameron et al. 2011) describes an open sedgeland variant of this community.LocationsKnown occurrences include Station Creek; Boambee Beach and Bundagen Headland, Bongil Bongil National Park.Vegetation Mapping of the Coffs Harbour Local Government Area Page 389