FINAL Heathcote Strategic Management Plan 2014-2019 - City of Melville
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
City of Melville
Heathcote
Strategic Management Plan
2014-2019
FINAL
Executive Summary
Heathcote Reserve is located on the Swan River in the suburb of Applecross in the north-east
of the City of Melville. The reserve includes 1.07 hectares of bushland, which is highly
isolated from other bushland remnants.
Heathcote Reserve is ranked highly amongst the City of Melville’s natural areas, and is
recognised as regionally significant (as Bush Forever Site 329). The bushland is regionally
significant, as less than 30% of the Karrakatta Central and South vegetation complex remains
uncleared.
Of the 27 assets targeted for monitoring and management:
• 19 assets were of regional significance
• 1 heritage site
Heathcote Hospital
• 1 ecological community
Karrakatta Vegetation Complex – Central and South
• 11 plant populations present onsite
Acacia cochlearis
Acanthocarpus preissii
Banksia sessilis var. cygnorum
Conostylis candicans
Eucalyptus gomphocephala
Grevillea crithmifolia
Lepidosperma gladiatum
Olearia axillaris
Rhagodia baccata
Scaevola nitida
Templetonia retusa
• 3 plant populations extinct onsite
Callitris preissii
Conospermum triplinervium
Melaleuca systena
• 2 plant populations possibly extinct onsite
Lepidosperma gracile
Lomandra maritima
• 1 bird populations
Smicrornis brevirostris, Weebill
The 67 native plant species represent approximately one sixth of the 434 species recorded in
the City of Melville. Of these:
• 1 tree (Callitris preissii) is regionally significant and went extinct onsite prior to the
1980s;
• 2 shrubs (Conospermum triplinervium and Melaleuca systena) are regionally
significant and went extinct onsite after 1998;
• 2 herbs (Lepidosperma gracile and Lomandra maritima) are regionally significant, and
either went extinct onsite after 1998 or are present in very low abundance and at very
high risk of extinction;
• 1 tree (Banksia grandis) is not regionally significant, and went extinct onsite after
2001;
• 1 tree (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) and 3 shrub (Templetonia retusa, Grevillea
crithmifolia and Scaevola nitida) populations are regionally significant, at high risk of
extinction onsite, and require targeted action to ensure their persistence onsite;
• Other species are at risk of local extinction and a survey is required to determine
numbers of plants of individual species.
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 2
The 13 native animal species (1 bat, 1 reptile and 11 birds) confirmed onsite represent one
twentieth of the 240 species recorded in the City of Melville. A further 49 species (18 reptiles,
27 birds, 4 invertebrates) have the potential to be locally resident, and 10 bird and 1 bat
species could utilise the reserve at times as migrants or vagrants.
Of the 50 threats considered for targeted monitoring and management, the very high impact
threats onsite were:
• 3 weeds (Bridal Creeper, Perennial Clumping Grasses and Brazilian Pepper)
• 1 feral animal (Felis catus, cats); and
• climate change (extremely high temperatures and low rainfall).
A discussion is provided on changes in assets and threats between 2001 and 2013, but a
comprehensive audit of key performance indicators, and many leading and lagging indicators
was not possible as quantitative data collection has not been previously standardised by the
City of Melville for bushland management. Between 2001 and 2013:
• 11 threats were prevented, unchanged, or decreased;
• 1 threats increased;
• 25 threats could not be assessed for changes;
• 1 asset was enhanced;
• 23 assets were maintained;
• 2 assets (2 plants) were not maintained and went extinct; and
• 57 assets could not be assessed for changes.
It is envisaged that future plans will review the outcomes and effectiveness of management,
and for the period 2014-2019, this strategic reserve plan establishes 35 objectives for threats
in order to meet the 29 goals set for assets. These are to be implemented through
operational reserve plans, guidelines and procedures.
The major priorities for management of the bushland at Heathcote Reserve should be:
• preventing the onsite extinction of 11 regionally significant plant populations (with a
further 2 populations possibly onsite in very low abundance);
• preventing the onsite extinction of all plant populations that are not regionally
significant;
• where it doesn’t impinge upon the above then consideration should also be given to
re-introducing species that have gone extinct;
• maintaining public access; and
• maintaining river views from the parkland areas above the bushland.
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 3
Recommended Reference
The recommended reference for this document is:
Waters, A (2014) Heathcote Strategic Management Plan 2014-2019, Woodgis Environmental
Assessment and Management for the City of Melville, Perth.
Acknowledgements
Woodgis Environmental Assessment and Management would like to acknowledge the
contribution of the following personnel from the City of Melville during preparation of the
strategic management plan:
• Kellie Motteram, Environmental Officer;
• Blair Bloomfield, Environmental Maintenance Supervisor; and
• Errol Allen, Team Leader - Environmental Maintenance.
Acronyms and Definitions
DBH diameter at breast height
DEC (WA) Department of Environment and Conservation
DEP (WA) Department of Environmental Protection
DPaW (WA) Department of Parks and Wildlife
EPBC Act Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
FCT Floristic Community Type
ha hectares
NAAMP Natural Areas Asset Management Plan
WAPC Western Australian Planning Commission
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 4
Table of Contents
Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. 2
Recommended Reference .................................................................................................................. 4
Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................................. 4
Acronyms and Definitions .................................................................................................................... 4
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................. 5
Figures ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Tables ...................................................................................................................................................... 7
1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 8
1.1 Background .............................................................................................................................. 8
1.2 Objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 10
1.3 Scope .............................................................................................................................................. 10
2 Assets ................................................................................................................................................. 11
2.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 11
2.1 Reserve Assets ............................................................................................................................... 13
2.1.1 Bush Forever ................................................................................................................................ 13
2.1.1 Ecological Linkages ................................................................................................................... 14
2.2 Site Assets ....................................................................................................................................... 17
2.2.1 Ecological Communities ........................................................................................................... 17
2.2.2 Fauna Habitat ............................................................................................................................. 19
2.2.3 Wetlands ...................................................................................................................................... 20
2.2.4 Heritage ....................................................................................................................................... 21
2.2.4 Community Interest ................................................................................................................ 22
2.2.5 Reference .................................................................................................................................... 23
2.3 Species ........................................................................................................................................... 25
2.3.1 Native Flora ................................................................................................................................. 25
2.3.1 Native Fauna............................................................................................................................... 28
3 Threats ................................................................................................................................................ 30
3.1 Physical Disturbance .................................................................................................................... 31
3.2 Fire ................................................................................................................................................... 32
3.4 Habitat Loss .................................................................................................................................... 34
3.5 Feral Animals ................................................................................................................................. 35
3.6 Diseases and Pathogens .............................................................................................................. 37
3.7 Stormwater ..................................................................................................................................... 37
3.8 Reticulation .................................................................................................................................... 37
3.10 Climate Change .......................................................................................................................... 38
4 Management .................................................................................................................................... 40
4.1 Review of Management 2001-2013 ............................................................................................ 40
4.1.1 Key Performance Indicators ..................................................................................................... 40
4.1.2 Leading Indicators ..................................................................................................................... 41
4.1.3 Lagging Indicators ..................................................................................................................... 42
4.2 Management Objectives 2014-2019 .......................................................................................... 43
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 5
4.2.1 Key Performance Indicators ..................................................................................................... 43
4.2.2 Leading Indicators ..................................................................................................................... 47
4.2.3 Lagging Indicators ..................................................................................................................... 48
References ........................................................................................................................................... 49
Appendix 1 Flora Inventory ................................................................................................................ 52
Appendix 2 Fauna Inventory ............................................................................................................. 54
Appendix 3 Weed Distributions.......................................................................................................... 56
Figures
Figure 1 Context of Strategic Reserve Plans in relation to other documents................. 8
Figure 2 Documents used to Maintain/Enhance Assets by Managing Threats............... 9
Figure 3 Location of Heathcote Reserve in the Suburb of Applecross ......................... 10
Figure 4 Assessment of Assets in Natural Areas ........................................................... 11
Figure 5 Bush Forever Site 329 – Point Heathcote Foreshore ....................................... 13
Figure 6 Aerial Photo of Heathcote Reserve 1965 .......................................................... 15
Figure 7 Aerial Photo of Heathcote Reserve 1974 .......................................................... 15
Figure 8 Aerial Photo of Heathcote Reserve 2009 .......................................................... 16
Figure 9 Vegetation Associations .................................................................................... 17
Figure 10: Areas of High Native Plant Cover 2013 .......................................................... 18
Figure 11 Habitat Trees in 2013 ........................................................................................ 19
Figure 12 Heritage Sites.................................................................................................... 21
Figure 13 Community Interest Sites................................................................................. 22
Figure 14 Banksia attenuata and Banksia menziesii Distribution 2013 ......................... 27
Figure 15 Assessment of Threats in Natural Areas ........................................................ 30
Figure 16 Location of Physical Disturbances ................................................................. 31
Figure 17 Bare Ground 2013............................................................................................. 34
Figure 18 Weed Cover (grasses and herbs) 2013 ........................................................... 34
Figure 19 Installations in and adjacent to bushland ....................................................... 40
Figure 20: Very High Impact Weeds (excluding grasses)............................................... 56
Figure 21: Very High Impact Perennial Clumping Grass Weeds.................................... 56
Figure 22: High Impact Weeds (shrub/trees & giant grasses)........................................ 56
Figure 23: High Impact Weeds (geophytes) .................................................................... 56
Figure 24: High Impact Annual Clumping Grass Weeds ................................................ 56
Figure 25: High Impact Perennial Running Grass Weeds .............................................. 56
Figure 26: Medium Impact Perennial Weeds ................................................................... 56
Figure 27: Low Impact Annual Weeds ............................................................................. 56
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 6
Tables
Table 1 Groups of Assets generally most susceptible to Threats ................................. 12
Table 2 Extents of Vegetation Associations.................................................................... 17
Table 3 Ecological Community Sites ............................................................................... 18
Table 4 Ecological Community Indices ........................................................................... 19
Table 5 Comparison of Density of Very Large Trees with other Reserves.................... 19
Table 6 Fauna Habitat Sites Indices ................................................................................. 20
Table 7 Wetland Types ...................................................................................................... 20
Table 8 Indicator Indices................................................................................................... 22
Table 9 Community Interest Sites 2013 ........................................................................... 22
Table 10 Revegetation Objectives .................................................................................... 23
Table 11 Community Interest Site Indices ....................................................................... 23
Table 12 Native Trees (Tag Numbers 295-343) ................................................................ 24
Table 13 Reference Site Indices ....................................................................................... 24
Table 14 Indicator Flora Species ...................................................................................... 25
Table 15 Mammal Species to be Monitored ..................................................................... 28
Table 16 Mammal Habitat Considerations for Revegetation .......................................... 28
Table 17 Reptile Indices .................................................................................................... 28
Table 18 Reptile Habitat Considerations for Revegetation at Heathcote ...................... 28
Table 19 Bird Indices ........................................................................................................ 29
Table 20 Bird Habitat Considerations for Revegetation at Heathcote ........................... 29
Table 21 Physical Disturbance Indices ............................................................................ 31
Table 22 Fire Indices ......................................................................................................... 32
Table 23 Number of Weed Species in Each Impact Category ........................................ 32
Table 24 Weed Presence / Extents 1998 - 2013 ............................................................... 32
Table 25 Number of Plants in 2013 of Selected Weeds .................................................. 33
Table 26 Extents of Bare Ground and Weed Cover Categories ..................................... 35
Table 27 Habitat Loss Indices .......................................................................................... 35
Table 28 Feral Animal Occurrences ................................................................................. 35
Table 29 Feral Animal Indices .......................................................................................... 36
Table 30 Disease and Pathogen Indices .......................................................................... 37
Table 31 Reticulation Indices ........................................................................................... 37
Table 32 Acid Sulfate Soil Indices .................................................................................... 37
Table 33 Average Monthly Maximum Temperatures 2004-2013 ..................................... 38
Table 34 Monthly Rainfall 2004-2013................................................................................ 38
Table 35 Extreme Weather Events ................................................................................... 39
Table 36 Leading Indicators ............................................................................................. 41
Table 37 Lagging Indicators ............................................................................................. 42
Table 38 Application of Bushfire Management Guidelines ............................................ 43
Table 39 Application of Environmental Weed Management Document......................... 44
Table 40 Application of Revegetation Management Document ..................................... 44
Table 41 Application of Management of Feral Animals Document ................................ 45
Table 42 Application of Guidelines for Disease and Pathogens .................................... 45
Table 43 Application of Friends Group Manual ............................................................... 46
Table 44 Tiered Objectives for Threats and Associated Leading Indicators ................ 47
Table 45 Objectives for Weed Species in Heathcote Reserve........................................ 47
Table 46 Objectives for all other Threats in Heathcote Reserve .................................... 47
Table 47 Tiered Goals for Assets and Associated Lagging Indicators ......................... 48
Table 48 Goals for Indicator Species ............................................................................... 48
Table 49 Goals for Sites .................................................................................................... 48
Table 50 Native Flora Inventory........................................................................................ 52
Table 51 Weed Inventory .................................................................................................. 53
Table 52 Mammal Inventory.............................................................................................. 54
Table 53 Native Reptile and Amphibian Inventory .......................................................... 54
Table 54 Native Bird Inventory ......................................................................................... 55
Table 55 Native Invertebrate Inventory ............................................................................ 55
Table 56 Feral Animal Inventory....................................................................................... 55
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 7
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
The Heathcote Strategic Management Plan updates the:
• Point Heathcote Foreshore Reserve Rehabilitation Plan (Siemon, 2001).
In accordance with the City of Melville’s Natural Areas Asset Management Plan (NAAMP)
framework, the Strategic Reserve Plan forms part of the integrated set of documents shown
in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Context of Strategic Reserve Plans in relation to other documents
The Strategy Reserve Plan is structured with the major headings of assets and threats in
accordance with the NAAMP framework, whereby assets are maintained or enhanced by the
management of threats (using the strategies and guidelines) as summarised in Figure 2.
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 8
Priorities Threats impacting on Techniques
for Protection from Threats assets and therefore for Management of Threats
subject to Management
BIODIVERSITY ASSETS THREATS STRATEGIES AND GUIDELINES
Acid Sulfate Soils Guidelines
Ecological Community Sites
Feral Animal Strategy and
Community Interest Sites
Stormwater Management
Weed Control Strategy &
Community Engagement
Revegetation Strategy &
Diseases and Pathogen
Bush Forever Reserves
Reticulation Guidelines
Sign, Path and Barrier
Native Fauna Species
Native Flora Species
Bushfire Strategy
Reference Sites
Heritage Sites
Wetland Sites
Guidelines
Guidelines
Guidelines
Guidelines
Guidelines
Strategy
X X X X X X Physical Disturbance X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X Fire X X X X X
X X X X X X X Weeds X X X X X
X X X X Habitat Loss X X X
X X X X Feral Animals X X X
X X X X X X X X Diseases & Pathogens X X X
X X X X X X X Stormwater X X
X Reticulation X
X X X X X X Acid Sulfate Soils X
X X X X X Climate Change X X
Figure 2 Documents used to Maintain/Enhance Assets by Managing Threats
Red = Strategy intended to Prevent, Eliminate, Contain or Manage impacts from threat
Orange = Strategy or Guideline to Manage secondary impacts from threats
Guidelines and procedures were to largely pre-empt strategic reserve plans, to ensure
efficiency and consistency in benchmarking and monitoring expected outcomes. The City of
Melville has begun to develop the guidelines and procedures required but they do not yet fully
apply the framework for ranking/prioritising assets and threats, nor document all management
and monitoring techniques.
Historically management plans have focused on developing flora and fauna inventories to
identify reserves of greatest significance within the City of Melville. Under the NAAMP
framework, the focus is moving to risk assessment and prioritisation of management
objectives within reserves, and it is envisaged that future plans will focus to a greater degree
on reviewing the outcomes and effectiveness of management strategies and guidelines.
The NAAMP provides a framework for consistently prioritising assets and threats between
reserves, and a format for plans, and that also facilitates community involvement in managing
specific reserves:
• During the preparation of strategic reserve plans, the community can assist in:
• the identification and benchmarking of assets and threats
• quantifying objectives for threats and goals for assets (e.g. specific number of
very high value plants of a species to be established onsite).
• During the life of strategic plans, the community can assist in:
• the identification and delineation of additional assets (including revegetation sites)
and threats;
• the monitoring of assets and threats; and
• on-grounds works in the context of specific and measurable goals.
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 9
1.2 Objectives
Under the framework of the NAAMP, the objectives of this and all City of Melville Strategic
Reserve Plan/s are to:
• document:
• the extent and/or abundance and condition of assets;
• the present and potential level and extent of impacts of threats;
• any changes evident in the assets and threats over time;
• reserve-specific risk-based management priorities;
• management strategies relevant to the specific reserve; and
• discuss:
• reserve-specific application of strategies and make reserve specific
recommendation regarding the implementation of strategies.
1.3 Scope
The scope of this Strategic Reserve Plan is the 1.07 hectares of bushland in the 2.97 hectare
Heathcote Reserve (Reserve 47152). This reserve is located on the Swan River in the
suburb of Applecross, in the north-east of the City of Melville, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3 Location of Heathcote Reserve in the Suburb of Applecross
This reserve was rated highly in terms of its overall value in the NAAMP. Of the four ratings,
Heathcote Reserve was in the highest tier.
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 102 Assets
2.1 Overview
The City of Melville has committed to a strategic goal to ‘contribute to the maintenance and
enhancement of biodiversity for the preservation of our natural flora and fauna’.
The NAAMP documents the regional context for climate, soils, landforms, flora and fauna;
and establishes a framework by which biodiversity is:
• defined as assets at three scales:
• Reserves (usually defined by cadastral boundaries);
• Sites (management units such as a vegetation type that may encompass either a
part or the entirety of a reserve); or
• Species (a group of organisms capable of interbreeding freely with each other but
not with members of other species).
• prioritised for either maintenance and enhancement (or confirmation if its status onsite
is uncertain, or monitoring if a reserve is not critical habitat) in terms of:
• Values (assessed with reference to local regional, state, national and international
significance) as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4 Assessment of Assets in Natural Areas
To provide foci for management and monitoring, a strategic risk assessment was undertaken
in the 2013 NAAMP (Waters A. , 2013) to identify assets with elevated susceptibility to
threats.
Assets are used as indices where they are significant and/or vulnerable to loss or degradation
without targeted action. Vulnerable assets were determined on the basis of the
characteristics summarised in Table 1.
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 11Table 1 Groups of Assets generally most susceptible to Threats
Assets
Threats Sites Fauna Species Flora Species
Physical Ground dwelling and/or All shrubs, and
All sites
Disturbance burrowing reptiles herbaceous species
Fire Trees and shrubs that
All ground dwelling species
are killed by fire and
All sites (non-burrowing, non-climbing
regenerate only from
and non-flying species)
seed stored on the plant
Weeds Ground dwelling and/or All shrubs, and
All sites
burrowing reptiles herbaceous species
Habitat Loss Listed as Threatened or
Priority by DPaW Listed as Threatened or
Ecological Community
Priority by DPaW
listed as Threatened or
Present in few reserves or
Priority by DPaW
few individuals in a reserve Present in few reserves
or few individuals in a
Present in few reserves
Cannot persist in urban or reserve
‘small’ bushland areas
Hollow dependent species
Feral Animals
Cats and foxes - All species -
Rabbits Revegetation sites - -
Bees - Hollow dependent species All herbaceous species
Diseases &
All sites No species Wide range of species
Pathogens
Stormwater All wetland dependent All wetland dependent
All wetlands
species species
Reticulation Reptiles that are either
All shrubs, and
All sites ground dwelling and/or
herbaceous species
burrowing
Acid Sulfate Soils All wetland dependent All wetland dependent
species species
Climate Change Long-lived shallow rooted
All wetland dependent
All wetlands and associated with
species
saturated soils
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 122.1 Reserve Assets
2.1.1 Bush Forever
Bush Forever Sites are properties listed as containing regionally significant bushland by the
Government of Western Australia (2000). Bush Forever is not subject to ongoing revision
and therefore the Bush Forever status of reserves is expected to remained unchanged for the
foreseeable future. However under the NAAMP, Bush Forever status is considered in terms
of:
• prioritising management resources between reserves; and
• managing sites and species within reserves to ensure reserves continue to meet the
Bush Forever criteria for which they were listed.
Point Heathcote Foreshore, Bush Forever Site Number 329, as shown in Figure 5, does not
strictly contain the bushland of Heathcote Reserve, but the site description includes values
(such as plant species) in the bushland and it is interpreted that the Bush Forever Site
includes all of the bushland in Heathcote Reserve.
Figure 5 Bush Forever Site 329 – Point Heathcote Foreshore
Point Heathcote Reserve met the requirements for two (out of a possible seven) criteria.
Bush Forever Volume 2: directory of Bush Forever Sites (Government of Western Australia,
2000), gives some indication of the justifications for Bush Forever Listings but with some
degree of interpretation possible. The Bush Forever values of Site 329, for the purposes of
the management of sites and species onsite, are:
• General criteria for the protection of wetland, steamline and estuarine fringing
vegetation and coastal vegetation (Conservation category wetlands areas
including fringing vegetation and associated upland vegetation. Coastal
vegetation within the accepted coastal management zone)
• The Swan-Canning Estuary is listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands
• Heathcote is one of the few naturally vegetated areas on the Swan Estuary
• The Strategic Reserve Plan Reserve is consistent with these values in managing
the site for biodiversity values.
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 13• Criteria not relevant to determination of regional significance, but which may be
applied when evaluating areas having similar values (Attributes which taken
alone do not establish regional significance, but which can add to the value of
bushland and enhance its contribution to Bush Forever)
• Heathcote is an open space of regional significance
• The distribution of a series of species associated with the Spearwood dunes is
extended inland along the river by their occurrence onsite (including
Conospermum triplinervium, Conostylis candicans, Banksia sessilis var.
cygnorum, Eucalyptus gomphocephala, Scaevola nitida and Templetonia retusa)
• The site is representative of the Karrakatta - Central and South vegetation
complex (which has been poorly reserved in the Perth Metropolitan Area) with
most of the areas likely to be conserved were to be north of the Perth Metropolitan
Area, and likely to become rare (i.e. subject to more than 90% clearing in the long-
term) due to identified “development proposals and Urban/Industrial Planning
Zones”.
• The pre-existing status of Heathcote Reserve as a reserve with some inherent
level of protection from clearing would have been a consideration in listing it as a
Bush Forever Site.
• The Strategic Reserve Plan Reserve is consistent with these values in managing
the site for biodiversity values with a specific focus on plant species of the
Spearwood dunes.
2.1.1 Ecological Linkages
Ecological linkages can increase the effective size of flora populations, and increase available
habitat for individual animals, and help maintain genetic diversity for animals and plants by
providing connections between groups of animals and plants in isolated bushland remnants.
The management of linkages is outside of the scope of Strategic Reserve Plans and is dealt
with through processes such as:
• land use planning processes;
• the City of Melville’s Green Plan (Alan Tingay and Associates, 1999);
• the City of Melville Streetscape Strategy; and
• the City of Melville Public Open Space Strategy.
Under the NAAMP, linkages are considered in terms of:
• prioritising management resources between reserves, and
• determining whether species can persist onsite in the long term.
Heathcote Reserve was included in:
• the north-south Regional Greenway 24, ‘Swan River’, by identified by Alan Tingay and
Associates (1998).
• The Swan-Canning Rivers are a regionally significant contiguous bushland/wetland
linkage (Government of Western Australia, 2000).
Whilst the Swan-Canning Rivers are a significant wetland linkage, the Heathcote Reserve
bushland has been highly isolated from other terrestrial bushland remnants for approximately
50 years. The last significant reduction in the extent of, and connectivity between, bushland
remnants in the vicinity was between 1965 and 1974, as indicated by aerial photography from
1965, 1974 and 2009 (Figure 6, Figure 7 and Figure 8).
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 14Figure 6 Aerial Photo of Heathcote Reserve 1965
Figure 7 Aerial Photo of Heathcote Reserve 1974
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 15Figure 8 Aerial Photo of Heathcote Reserve 2009
There is no other native vegetation in a circle extending 2 km out from the centre of
Heathcote Reserve. The total of 0.1% native cover in this area has implications for the long
term persistence of some flora and fauna species onsite, as discussed in Section 2.3 and
Section 4.
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 162.2 Site Assets
2.2.1 Ecological Communities
The two vegetation types (associations) identified in the Flora Assessment - Estuarine
Reserves (Blackwall Reach, Point Walter and Heathcote (Waters A. , 2013) are listed in
Table 2.
Table 2 Extents of Vegetation Associations
Associations Extent (ha)
Templetonia retusa (Cockies Tongues) shrubland 0.08
Eucalyptus gomphocephala (Tuart) woodland 1.00
Total 1.07
The distribution of these vegetation associations are shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9 Vegetation Associations
Assets are prioritised on the basis of their highest level of significance when they are
assessed against multiple datasets. The significance of vegetation can be assessed in terms
of several classifications:
• Vegetation Complexes are a regional classification for the Swan Coastal Plain,
Darling Scarp and Darling Plateau mapped by Heddle et al. (1980) on the basis of
combinations of plants communities, soils and landforms. Plant communities may
occur in more than one soil-landform combination but the relative proportions of plant
communities vary between these (Government of Western Australia, 2000).
Floristic Community Types (FCTs) are a regional classification for the Swan Coastal
Plain and Darling Scarp defined in terms of groups of co-occurring plants by Gibson et
al. (1995) and the DEP (1996). Whilst FCTs are distributed in more of a mosaic than
vegetation complexes, the classifications are equivalent in dividing the region into a
roughly equal number of classes. There are some associations between FCTs and
vegetation complexes (i.e. some FCTs tend to occur in particular complexes), but
there is no hierarchical relationship between them. No assessment was made in
terms of FCTs as none were inferred for Heathcote Reserve by the Government of
Western Australia (2000) or Waters (2013). The vegetation at Heathcote has
similarities to FCT 24 and 28 but the site is highly degraded and the inferred FCT
changes with small adjustments to the dataset (e.g. assumptions regarding whether
one or two species were planted) (Waters A. , 2013); and
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 17• Vegetation Types are a local classification in the City of Melville mapped by
Ecoscape (2006) in terms of dominant overstorey species. The general descriptions
of vegetation types were applied to vegetation associations to avoid issues with minor
discrepancies in interpretation of boundaries.
The ecological communities for which objectives apply in the Heathcote Reserves are listed
in Table 4.
Table 3 Ecological Community Sites
Floristic
Vegetation Association Vegetation Complex Vegetation Types
Community Types
Karrakatta
Templetonia retusa upland dominated by
Central and South
(Cockies Tongues) shrubland Eucalyptus species
Complex
Not Determined
Low Significance
Eucalyptus gomphocephala High Significance
Multiple occurrences
(Tuart) woodland Vegetation Complex with
in Melville
10-30% uncleared
The areas of high native plant cover (Table 4 Ecological Community Indices
High Native High Native
Assets
Values Ecological Community Sites Plant Cover Plant Cover
2001-2013
2001 2013
Karrakatta – Central and South
High
Vegetation Complex
Vegetation
• Templetonia retusa (Cockies Change Not
Complex No Data 85%
Tongues) shrubland Assessable
with 10-30%
• Eucalyptus gomphocephala (Tuart)
uncleared
woodland
2.2.2 Fauna Habitat
Very large trees are important habitat sites for a number of resident and migratory birds and
bats:
• many birds rely on tree hollows (Birdlife Australia, 2013),
• roost sites (in tree hollows and under flaking/rough bark) are a critical habitat
requirement for bats (Hosken, 1996).
• The size of trees is one of the critical factors in determining the likelihood of hollow
formation in trees (Gibbons & Lindenmayer, 2002).
The locations of the very large live native trees (trunk diameter at breast height greater than
50 cm) are shown in Figure 11. There were no very large dead trees onsite. These are also
fauna habitat site regardless of whether they were native or not.
Figure 11 Habitat Trees in 2013
The number of very large trees per hectare compares poorly with the other reserves in for
which there is data, as listed in Table 5.
Table 5 Comparison of Density of Very Large Trees with other Reserves
Heathcote Bullcreek Estuarine North-West Kings
Very Large Trees 1 1 1 1 2
Reserve Reserves Reserves Reserves Park
Live Native Tree 4 13 18 17 11
Dead Tree 0 0 3 2 4
Total 4 13 21 19 15
1: DBH > 50 cm (strategic reserve management plans) 2: DBH > 45 cm (Beard, 1967).
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 19The fauna habitat for which objectives apply are listed in Table 6, which reflects that the
number of very large trees was not previously benchmarked for the Heathcote Reserve in
2008, and that there was no evidence of significant changes 2001-2013.
Table 6 Fauna Habitat Sites Indices
Trees / Hectare Trees / Hectare Assets
Values Habitat Sites
2001 2013 2001-2013
Live Native Tree 4 Maintained
Medium
No Data (assumed
Very Large Trees Dead Tree 0 unchanged)
2.2.3 Wetlands
Wetlands are defined in Schedule 5 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 as areas ‘of
seasonally, intermittently or permanently waterlogged or inundated land, whether natural or
otherwise, and includes a lake, swamp, marsh, spring, dampland, tidal flat or estuary’ and
wetlands can be categorised in accordance with Table 7.
Table 7 Wetland Types
LANDFORM
WATER LONGEVITY
BASIN CHANNEL FLAT SLOPE HIGHLAND
Permanent Inundation Lake River - - -
Seasonal Inundation Sumpland Creek Floodplain - -
Intermittent Inundation Playa Wadi Barlkarra - -
Seasonal Waterlogging Dampland Trough Palusplain Paluslope Palusmont
Source: Government of Western Australia (2000)
With the exception of the Swan River foreshore, which is outside the scope of this
management plan, Heathcote Reserve contains no wetland sites identified:
• in the DPaW’s Geomorphic Wetlands Swan Coastal Plain dataset, based on the
mapping of Hill et al. (1996); or
• through the presence of wetland dependent species onsite.
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 202.2.4 Heritage
The heritage sites in Heathcote Reserve are shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12 Heritage Sites
Heathcote Reserve contains no heritage sites listed on the National Heritage List.
The Heathcote Reserve bushland (‘the lower and upper lands of Point Heathcote’) is included
in Heathcote Hospital (Point Heathcote Reception Home), Heritage Place No. 3289, on the
WA Heritage Register. The significance of the site is not primarily related to the bushland,
with the Statement of Significance (Heritage Council, 2014) being that Heathcote Hospital is
significant on the following grounds:
• Social Value: The choice of the site was made on the basis that its attractive
environment would be therapeutic for the patients.
• Authenticity: The buildings are intact.
• Historic Value: Site named after midshipman Heathcote who was a member of
Stirling's exploration party up the Swan River. Considered as possible site for the
capital city for the infant colony in 1829.
The bushland contributed to the value of the heritage site in facilitating river views and access
to the foreshore, which would have formed part of the ‘attractive environment therapeutic for
the patients’.
The Heathcote Reserve bushland is immediately adjacent two sites listed on the WA
Aboriginal Sites Register:
• Site 18623 (Goolugatup) is a ceremonial/mythological/historical site with additional
information listed as ‘ochre, birthplace, meeting place, plant resource, camp, hunting
place, named place, natural feature, water source’; and
• Site 3536 (Swan River) is a mythological site.
The City of Melville’s Municipal Heritage Inventory includes a large number of parks
(including Heathcote and Point Heathcote Lower Lands), as parks & reserves are a
prominent feature of Melville compared to other inner-metro-ring local governments.
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 21The heritage sites for which objectives apply are listed in Table 8.
Table 8 Indicator Indices
Assets
Site Heritage Sites Extent 2001 Extent 2013
2001-2013
River views
Very High No Data Maintained
Heathcote Hospital- (metric TBA)
Site listed on the WA (assumed
Heritage Place No. 3289
Heritage Register 625 m of paths 625 m of paths unchanged)
The extent of uninterrupted and partial river views from the lawns of Heathcote Hospital can
be quantified, but consultation will be required to determine the appropriate measure and
acceptable thresholds against which it is measured.
2.2.4 Community Interest
Recreation and revegetation sites can be a focus for community interest as these are visible
manifestations of natural area management, and the public is often directly involved their
proposal or implementation. The community interest sites are listed in Table 9 and shown in
Figure 13.
Table 9 Community Interest Sites 2013
Community Interest Sites 2013 Extents
2
Plantings 1630 m
Figure 13 Community Interest Sites
Revegetation sites (plantings) are areas in which plantings have been undertaken and are
currently being intensively managed and have not been assessed against completion criteria,
at which point they stop being treated as revegetation sites. No plantings/closed tracks in
Figure 13 have been assessed against criteria in Table 10.
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 22Table 10 Revegetation Objectives
Revegetation Category Objectives
Establishment of individual plants Plants > 5 years old
or artificial hollows Hollows used by target species
A minimum number of plants or artificial hollows
Rehabilitation Plants > 5 years old
Reinstating self-sustaining and Gaps between native plants < 1 m x 1 m
functional ecosystems based on Weed cover < 25% and bare ground < 25% in any 100 m2 area (in
local species, but not aspiring to which a rectangle with a minimum side of 2 m can fit)
fully replace all of the original A number of shrubs/trees (the number varying between sites)
components of an ecosystem. Diversity criteria generally not set
Restoration of vegetation Diversity and density measurements benchmarked against
Reinstating the composition, reference site
structure, function and dynamics of
pre-existing indigenous ecosystems
There were no revegetation sites in the forms of nest boxes or closed tracks in the bushland
of Heathcote Reserve.
The community interest sites for which objectives apply are listed in Table 11.
Table 11 Community Interest Site Indices
Completion Completion
Assets
Values Community Interest Sites Criteria Met Criteria Met
2001-2013
1991-2000 2001-2013
Medium Change Not
8 Plantings No data No data
Revegetation Sites Assessable
Generally, additional planting areas are explicitly defined in operational plans, rather than
strategic reserve plans which indicate broad priorities (within and between ecological
communities, and between species) and document the effectiveness of revegetation
(changes in weed and native plant cover, and bare ground). This framework facilitates the
identification and delineation of additional revegetation sites with community input during the
life of the strategic plans, prioritising sites using:
• the values of assets (with a focus on ecological communities and native species);
• objectives relating to the extent of ecological communities to be enhanced; and
• threats identified in the strategic plans.
2.2.5 Reference
Reference sites provide opportunities for long-term monitoring and research.
Approximately 45 native and 4 weed with a stem diameter of more than 300 mm diameter
trees were individually tagged in 2008 (Royal, 2008) and subjected to an Arboricultural
Assessment, with the following information collected:
• species;
• height;
• trunk diameter;
• canopy spread;
• health condition;
• structural condition; and
• comments pertinent to the specific tree.
The exact number of trees is unclear because in the figures in the associated Arboricultural
Assessment report:
• GPS co-ordinates were not documented;
• Not all tag numbers were legible;
• Not all the bushland was shown; and
• It was unclear whether some trees are just inside or just outside the bushland.
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 23It appears that most of the trees with tags numbers 295-343 are in the bushland, with the
breakdown of trees by species in this number range listed in Table 12 (including trees on the
boundary with, but likely outside, the bushland).
Table 12 Native Trees (Tag Numbers 295-343)
Species Number of Trees
Acacia saligna, Orange Wattle 6
Allocasuarina fraseriana, Sheoak 5
Banksia attenuata, Slender Banksia 16
Eucalyptus gomphocephala, Tuart 12
Eucalyptus rudis, Flooded Gum 6
Total 45
The reference sites for which objectives apply are those tagged native trees in the bushland
as listed in Table 13.
Table 13 Reference Site Indices
Reference Number of Sites Extent of Site Assets
Values
Sites 2001 2013 2001-2013
One set of
permanent Approximately 45
Medium
marked trees 0 reference trees Enhanced
Local reference tree sites
with size and tagged in 2008
condition data
Some tagged trees have died since 2008, but the reference site is not considered lost as long
as the death can be confirmed (the reference site is maintained as long as the tag can be
relocated up until the tree dies).
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 242.3 Species
2.3.1 Native Flora
The 67 native plant species recorded in Heathcote Reserve are listed in Table 50 in Appendix
1. This represents approximately one sixth of the 434 species recorded in the 55 natural area
reserves in the City of Melville. The plant species for which objectives apply are listed in
Table 14.
Table 14 Indicator Flora Species
Status Status Assets
Values Plants
2001 2013 2001-2013
High No
Not 1 species
‘poorly reserved’ and assumption
Conospermum triplinervium Observed Change Not
‘significant populations’ (confirmed
(extinct) Assessable
in Bush Forever area 1998)
High Assumed
Not 1 species
‘endemic’ and absent
Callitris preissii Observed Not
‘significant populations’ (confirmed
(extinct) Assessed
in Bush Forever area 1872)
Acanthocarpus preissii
Lepidosperma gladiatum Confirmed
Conostylis candicans Present
Moderate
Banksia sessilis var. cygnorum
Numbers
Acacia cochlearis
Olearia axillaris 11 species
Assumed
Rhagodia baccata Maintained
High Present
‘species associated Grevillea crithmifolia
with the Spearwood Eucalyptus gomphocephala Low
dunes (sands and Confirmed Numbers
Scaevola nitida
Tamala limestone) the Present
Templetonia retusa
occurrence of which is
Confirmed
extended inland along
Present Not
the river’ in Bush 2 species
Lepidosperma gracile No Observed
Forever Change Not
Lomandra maritima assumption (possibly
Assessable
(confirmed extinct)
1998)
No
Not 1 species
assumption
Melaleuca systena Observed Not
(confirmed
(extinct) Maintained
1998)
Low
Key species in Not 1 species
Eucalyptus Banksia grandis Observed Not
gomphocephala (extinct) Maintained
woodland
Low Confirmed
Key species in Banksia attenuata
Present
Eucalyptus
gomphocephala Banksia menziesii
woodland Low 5 species
Xanthorrhoea preissii Numbers Maintained
Low Acacia saligna
Well-represented in Assumed
Melville reserves, but in Allocasuarina fraseriana
Present
low abundance in
Not all Not all 45 species
Heathcote Reserve
All other species species species Change Not
assessed assessed Assessable
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 25Plants Extinct or Not Confirmed Onsite
Conospermum triplinervium appears to have become locally extinct between 1998 and 2001:
• It was recorded as present in:
• System 6 Part II: Recommendations for Specific Localities (DCE, 1983) along
Waylen Bay (the southern/western portion of the Heathcote bushland)
• Floristics of System Six Reserves and Bushland Part XVI (Keighery & Keigery,
1998)
• It was not recorded as present in:
• the Point Heathcote Foreshore Reserve Rehabilitation Plan (Siemon, 2001)
• Heathcote Lower Land Flora and Fauna Assessment (GHD, 2008)
• Flora Assessment - Estuarine Reserves (Blackwall Reach, Point Walter and
Heathcote (Waters A. , 2013)
Melaleuca systena appears to have become locally extinct between 1998 and 2001:
• It was recorded as present in:
• Floristics of System Six Reserves and Bushland Part XVI (Keighery & Keigery,
1998)
• It was not recorded as present in:
• the Point Heathcote Foreshore Reserve Rehabilitation Plan (Siemon, 2001)
• Heathcote Lower Land Flora and Fauna Assessment (GHD, 2008)
• Flora Assessment - Estuarine Reserves (Blackwall Reach, Point Walter and
Heathcote (Waters A. , 2013)
Callitris preissii appears to have become locally extinct prior to the 1980s:
• It was recorded by:
• Charles Fraser, Colonial Botanist of New South Wales, in 1827, as the ‘beautiful
dwarf species of Calytris’ at Point Heathcote (Seddon, 1972) and previously
common from Point Heathcote to the causeway to the east (Cunningham, 1998).
• It was not recorded as present in:
• System 6 Part II: Recommendations for Specific Localities (DCE, 1983).
• Flora Assessment - Estuarine Reserves (Blackwall Reach, Point Walter and
Heathcote (Waters A. , 2013)
Banksia grandis appears to have become locally extinct between 2001 and 2008:
• It was recorded as present in:
• the Point Heathcote Foreshore Reserve Rehabilitation Plan (Siemon, 2001)
• It was not recorded as present in:
• Heathcote Lower Land Flora and Fauna Assessment (GHD, 2008)
• Arboricultural Assessment - Heathcote Lower Land (Royal, 2008)
• Flora Assessment - Estuarine Reserves (Blackwall Reach, Point Walter and
Heathcote (Waters A. , 2013)
• In the City of Melville there are 36 trees confirmed in bushland reserves: there are no
trees in the Eastern Reserves, 1 tree in the Estuarine Reserves, 5 trees in the
Bullcreek Reserves, 13 trees in the North-West Reserves, and 17 trees in the South-
East Reserves;
• This species is at significant risk of local extinction in Kings Park due to its low
abundance, where there was an average of 2.11 plants/ha over 267 hectare of
bushland, or approximately 560 plants (Crosti, Dixon, Ladd, & Yates, 2007);
• The replacement rate is slow as it doesn’t set seed until more than ten years old
(George, 1996); and
• Seeds are generally deposited within 15 metres of the parent plant (Powell, 2009).
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 26Plants at Very High Risk of Local Extinction
The majority of the native plant species at Heathcote Reserve are at risk of local extinction,
with the following noted.
Xanthorrhoea preissii, Grass Trees:
• were in low numbers ( 30 cm in 2008);
• Allocasuarina fraseriana (approximately 5 trees with trunk > 30 cm in 2008);
• Templetonia retusa (estimated < 50 plants in 2013);
• Eucalyptus gomphocephala (approximately 12 trees with trunk > 30 cm in 2008);
• Xanthorrhoea preissii (2.3.1 Native Fauna
The native fauna recorded in Heathcote Reserve are listed in Appendix 2. There are 73
native mammals expected to occur in Heathcote Reserve, of which 13 were confirmed
(Bamford Consulting Ecologists, 2013). The 13 confirmed native vertebrate animal species
represents one twentieth of the 240 species recorded in the 55 natural area reserves in the
City of Melville.
Mammals
One native mammal, Chalinolobus gouldii, Gould’s Wattled Bat, was confirmed in Heathcote
Reserve, in 2013 (Bamford Consulting Ecologists, 2013). There are no mammal indices for
Heathcote Reserve. The bat listed in Table 15 is to be monitored, but not to be used as an
indicator as the persistence onsite of suitable feeding and breeding habitat, rather than
individual bats, is the focus of management.
Table 15 Mammal Species to be Monitored
Last
Values Mammals Status
Confirmed
Low Resident –
Chalinolobus gouldii
Bushland dependent species recorded in Large Home Range 2013
Gould’s Wattled Bat
more than 2 Melville reserves Breeding Onsite
Chalinolobus gouldii, Gould’s Wattled Bat, is expected to be only partially dependent upon
Heathcote Reserve as it has a has a large home range and can regularly forage 5 to 10 km
from roosts (Churchill, 2008). They feed on insects caught whilst flying between 1 and 20
metres off the ground (Strahan, 1998), along gaps in vegetation and just below tree canopies
(Churchill, 2008). Gould’s Wattled Bats, have a strong preference for roosting in large live
trees (although they will also utilise dead trees and buildings where preferred habitat is not
available) (Webala, 2010). The habitat to be considered in revegetation are listed in Table
16.
Table 16 Mammal Habitat Considerations for Revegetation
Mammals Habitat Requirements Diet
Chalinolobus gouldii Very large live trees (for roosting hollows)
Invertebrates
Gould’s Wattled Bat Vegetation 1 – 20 m high (for foraging)
Reptiles and Amphibians
There are 19 native reptiles and amphibians expected to occur in Heathcote Reserve, of
which 1 was confirmed onsite in 2013 (Bamford Consulting Ecologists, 2013). All 19 species
are listed in Table 53 in Appendix 2, with the 1 indicator species listed in Table 17.
Table 17 Reptile Indices
Status Status Assets
Species Values Reptiles
2001 2013 2001-2013
Low Ctenotus australis 1 species
Assumed Confirmed
Bushland dependent species recorded Western Limestone Maintained
Present Present
in more than 2 Melville reserves Ctenotus (no change)
Ctenotus australis, Western Limestone Ctenotus, conceals itself in sandy burrows at base of
shrubs and feeds on invertebrates (Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper, & Robinson, 2000).
The persistence onsite of all reptile populations onsite is the focus of management and
monitoring as all are sedentary resident species. The critical habitats for indicator reptiles are
summarised in
Table 18.
Table 18 Reptile Habitat Considerations for Revegetation at Heathcote
Scientific Name Common Name Habitat Requirements Diet
Ctenotus australis Western Limestone Ctenotus Sandy ground and shrubs Invertebrates
Source: Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper, & Robinson (2000).
Heathcote Strategic Reserve Plan page 28You can also read
