Noosa Council Planning Report - 26 Sallwood Ct, Pinbarren. (3)

Regional Ecosystems                                                                                        23/05/2022 11:17:26




Regional Ecosystems
1. Introduction
Regional ecosystems are vegetation communities in a bioregion that are consistently associated with particular combinations
of geology, landform and soil (Sattler and Williams 1999). Descriptions of Queensland's Regional ecosystems are available
online from the Regional Ecosystem Description Database (REDD). Descriptions are compiled from a broad range of
information sources including vegetation, land system and geology survey and mapping and detailed vegetation site data.
The regional ecosystem classification and descriptions are reviewed as new information becomes available. A number of
vegetation communities may form a single regional ecosystem and are usually distinguished by differences in dominant
species, frequently in the shrub or ground layers and are denoted by a letter following the regional ecosystem code (e.g. a, b,
c). Vegetation communities and regional ecosystems are amalgamated into a higher level classification of broad vegetation
groups (BVGs).

A published methodology for survey and mapping of regional ecosystems across Queensland (Neldner et al 2020) provides
further details on regional ecosystem concepts and terminology.

This report provides information on the type, status, and extent of vegetation communities, regional ecosystems and broad
vegetation groups present within a user specified area of interest. Please note, for the purpose of this report, the Biodiversity
Status is used. This report has not been developed for application of the Vegetation Management Act 1999 (VMA).
Additionally, information generated in this report has been derived from the Queensland Herbarium's Regional Ecosystem
Mapping, and not the regulated mapping certified for the purposes of the VMA. If your interest/matter relates to regional
ecosystems and the VMA, users should refer to the Department of Resources website.
https://www.dnrme.qld.gov.au/

With respect to the Queensland Biodiversity Status,
"Endangered" regional ecosystems are described as those where:
       • remnant vegetation is less than 10 per cent of its pre-clearing extent across the bioregion; or 10-30% of its
       pre-clearing extent remains and the remnant vegetation is less than 10,000 hectares, or
       • less than 10 per cent of its pre-clearing extent remains unaffected by severe degradation and/or biodiversity loss*, or
       • 10-30 per cent of its pre-clearing extent remains unaffected by severe degradation and/or biodiversity loss and the
       remnant vegetation is less than 10,000 hectares; or
       • it is a rare** regional ecosystem subject to a threatening process.***


"Of concern" regional ecosystems are described as those where:
       • the degradation criteria listed above for 'Endangered' regional ecosystems are not met and,
       • remnant vegetation is 10-30 per cent of its pre-clearing extent across the bioregion; or more than 20 per cent of its
       pre-clearing extent remains and the remnant extent is less than 10,000 hectares, or
       • 10-30 percent of its pre-clearing extent remains unaffected by moderate degradation and/or biodiversity loss.****


and "No concern at present" regional ecosystems are described as those where:
       • remnant vegetation is over 30 per cent of its pre-clearing extent across the bioregion, and the remnant area is greater
       than 10,000 hectares, and
       • the degradation criteria listed above for 'Endangered' or 'Of concern' regional ecosystems are not met.


*Severe degradation and/or biodiversity loss is defined as: floristic and/or faunal diversity is greatly reduced but unlikely to
recover within the next 50 years even with the removal of threatening processes; or soil surface is severely degraded, for
example, by loss of A horizon, surface expression of salinity; surface compaction, loss of organic matter or sheet erosion.

**Rare regional ecosystem: pre-clearing extent (1000 ha); or patch size (100 ha and of limited total extent across its range).

***Threatening processes are those that are reducing or will reduce the biodiversity and ecological integrity of a regional
ecosystem. For example, clearing, weed invasion, fragmentation, inappropriate fire regime or grazing pressure, or
infrastructure development.



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