Rainforests of the Marlo area

Submission prepared by: Bill Peel on behalf of the East Gippsland Rainforest Conservation Management Network.

SUBMISSION CONTENTS

 SUMMARY

About the Network

Conservation status of rainforest in the Marlo Urban Area

Rainforest values to the environment and the community at large

Constraints imposed by the conservation status of rainforests

Benefits of conserving the existing stands of rainforest and the currently cleared habitat of rainforest

Depletion through land clearing, coastal recreation, urbanisation, grazing and weed invasion

Depletion by locality

 References

 List of Tables

Table 1.  Rainforests of the Marlo Urban Area.

Table 2.  Conservation status of rainforests that occur in the Marlo UDF study area and the threats to them.

Table 3.  Rare or threatened plants that occur in the rainforest of the Marlo UDF study area.

Table 4.  Rare or threatened or edge of range animals, which occur (have been recorded) in the rainforests of the Marlo UDF study area.

Table 5.  Depletion of rainforest and planning solutions and benefits

 

Attachments

Attachment 1.  Damp Sands Littoral Rainforest floristic community description.

 SUMMARY
Marlo retains some of the most significant stands of rainforest left in Victoria that have both state and national significance, including:

• The largest and best developed stands of Damp Sands Littoral Rainforest stands occur within the Marlo UDF study area (with relatively little occurring further east along French’s Narrows)  This includes the threatened floristic community of Damp Sands Littoral Rainforest:
• Two nationally threatened and Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999)-listed species;
  • Swift Parrot and Grey-headed Flying Fox

 

All of the rainforests of the Marlo UDF study area are in the final stages of the nomination process (the Littoral Rainforest floristic communities) under the Federal Environmental Protection and Biodiversity and Conservation Act (1999).  

 

The Council (and by extension the community that it represents) has obligations under these acts of Parliament to conserve these threatened rainforest communities as well as their threatened plants and animals.  Conservation and maintenance of these values requires rainforest conservation both through the preservation of existing stands and the rehabilitation and restoration of a significant proportion of the degraded or previously cleared rainforest habitat in the UDF study area.  If as a community we choose to conserve and restore these rainforest habitats then we have taken the biggest step towards conserving the cargo of rare and threatened species they contain.

 

Fortunately there are significant synergies available across the UDF study area between sensible planning overlays that deal with land not suitable for development, erosion risk and storm water management and nutrient processing whilst maintaining or restoring rainforests in Marlo area.

 

These synergies fall into the following groupings:

1. Marginal bluffs and steep valley sides if protected could be used to ensure the conservation of of newly described Littoral Rainforests (currently in the nomination process under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999);
2. Storm water and nutrient processing in the short steep gully systems of the marginal bluff systems through the conservation and restoration of the Littoral Rainforest that have been locally proven to strip 70% of floodwater phosphorous and 88% of ground water phosphorous (Peel in prep. a).

 

The UDF incorrectly identifies the rainforest in the study area as Dry Rainforest.  It is in fact Littoral Rainforests (Peel in prep. b).

 

Conservation status of rainforest in the Marlo Urban Area

• There is one ecological vegetation class of rainforest present in the study area (Littoral Rainforest) with one distinct floristic community represented (Table 1.).

 

The UDF unfortunately fails to list the following: the floristic community (Table 1), its conservation status and the threats to it (Table 2) and their threatened species [Table 3 (plants) and Table 4 (animals)].

 

Rainforest values to the environment and the community at large

In Victoria rainforests conserve 4% of the states plant diversity (30% of which are rare and threatened species), despite occupying less than 0.14% of the State’s land area.

• Rainforests are excellent water processors and have been proven locally to strip up to 70% of the phosphorous from surface storm water and 88% from ground water.  This works best in streams of up to third order (which matches all of the stream orders of the gully systems in the UDF study area);
• Rainforests are fire retardant and so their presence in the urban environment is a benefit in this regard;
• Rainforests consist of species that are restricted in the landscape that can only be conserved by protecting rainforests and their fringing ecotones;
• Rainforest on or adjacent to properties is a major selling point for real estate; and
• Rainforests enable urban kids to experience the bush with relative safety near to home.

 

Constraints imposed by the conservation status of rainforest

All of the Warm Temperate Rainforest and Littoral Rainforest communities of East Gippsland are protected by the NVP regulations.  All of the Littoral Rainforest floristic communities within the Marlo urban area are threatened.  None of the rainforests in the UDF area will survive without concerted local government and community actions that include zoning to protect existing rainforest remnants and their ecotones and zoning to conserve currently cleared habitat to ensure planning and subsequent development allow recovery of the rainforests in their past habitat.

 

Benefits of conserving existing stands of rainforest and the currently cleared habitat of rainforest

The following benefits will accrue if the council adopts planning measures to conserve these areas of the landscape:

• High tunnel and gully erosion-risk areas will be protected and erosion risks to infrastructure and housing will be reduced;
• Obligations under the Federal Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) and State Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1999) will be met;
• Nationally and State-listed rainforest vegetation as well as their cargo of rare and threatened plants and animals will be conserved;
• Storm water treatment is facilitated by the restoration of rainforests to gully systems in the Marlo UDF study area;
• Nutrient stripping (particularly phosphorous) will remove up to 70% of phosphorous and if combined with the reinstatement of wetlands at the mouths of rainforest gullies nitrogen sequestration is enhanced as well;
• Urban and landscape amenity is improved and the environment is conserved.

Table 1.  Rainforests of the Marlo Urban Area.

Ecological vegetation class Habitat features	Floristic community	Habitat Localities in the urban area
Littoral Rainforest Habitat features: ·         Exposed sites ·         Saline influence (wind, water, water tables or geology); ·         Fire protected	Damp Sands Littoral Rainforest*	Habitat: Marginal bluffs of laterized Pleistocene sands. Localities: the full length of the Marlo Foreshore (in more or less continuous stands) from the yacht club east to French’s Narrows, including MOTS Beach.

*See Attachment 1.

 

 

 

Table 2.  Conservation status of rainforests that occur in the Marlo UDF study area and the threats to them.

Floristic community	Conservation status	Threats
Damp Sands Littoral Rainforest	Threatened: currently under consideration in the nomination process under the Federal Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999).	Habitat loss (land clearing) Grazing by domestic stock Feral Deer Weed invasions Urban development (weed invasion) Coastal recreation and associated infrastructure Global warming (increased fire frequency and intensity)

 

 

 

Table 3.  Rare or threatened plants that occur in the rainforests of the Marlo UDF study area.

Name	IUCN	EPBC	AROTS	VROTS	FFG	Action Statement	Rainforest type
Upright Panic Entolasia stricta				k			Damp Sands LRf
Spicy Everlasting Ozothamnus argophyllus				r			Damp Sands LRf

 

 

Table 4.  Rare or threatened animals*, which occur (have been recorded) in the rainforests of the Marlo Urban Design Framework study area.

Name	Division Name	ESP	AROTS	VROTS	FFG	TR	CAMBA/ JAMBA	Notes
Azure Kingfisher Alcedo azurea	Birds			n				Nests in LRf/WTRf
Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus	Mammals	VU	V	v	L			Food: LRF/WTRf, roosts: WTRf
Long-nosed Potoroo Potorous tridactylus	Mammals	VU	V	e	L			LRf
Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor	Birds	EN	E	e	L			Feeds: LRf/WTRf
Tree Goanna Varanus varius	Reptiles			v				Inhabits WTRf
White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster	Birds			v	L	1	1/-	Nests: WTRf

*Bold are rainforest dependant in the district; underlined are those that breed in rainforests of the district.

Depletion through land clearing, coastal recreation, urbanisation, grazing and weed invasion

One of the major reasons for the CMN submission relates to habitat loss for rainforests in the Marlo UDF study area.  This habitat loss and the ongoing threats that continue to degrade and erode the remaining areas of rainforest in the district are directly related to urban development, coastal recreation and ongoing grazing and weed invasion.  Drawing the Council’s attention to this on a site by site basis should enable the planning scheme to be amended to accommodate both the urban development and conservation needs of rainforests in the UDF study area. 

 

Depletion by locality

The causes of depletion of rainforests in the Marlo UDF study area, the planning solutions and benefits are listed in Table 5.

 

References

Peel, B.  (in prep. a).  Rainforest Restoration Manual for south eastern Australia.  The how to book on what we have learnt so that you can do it.  Includes: Cool Temperate Rainforests, Warm Temperate Rainforests, Subtropical Rainforests, Gallery Rainforests, Dry Rainforests and Littoral Rainforests. C.S.I.R.O.

Peel, B. (in prep. b).  Littoral Rainforests of south eastern Australia: composition, ecology and management.

 

 

 

 

Table 5.  Depletion of rainforest and planning solutions and benefits

Locality	Causes of depletion	Ongoing threats	Planning solution and benefits
The full length of the Marlo Foreshore from the yacht club east to French’s Narrows, including MOTS Beach	Illegal clearing for views, garden rubbish dumping, environmental weeds, clearing for urban and coastal infrastructure and housing sites	Illegal clearing for views, garden rubbish dumping, environmental weeds, clearing for urban and coastal infrastructure and housing sites	Planning solution: Ensure preservation of lakeshore reserves, maintain gully vegetation. Benefits: risk of gully erosion to roading and housing reduced; rainforest conservation enhanced; landscape amenity (particularly from the lake) improved.