Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Distribution and conservation status of the rare plants Melaleuca triumphalis and Stenostegia congesta (Myrtaceae), Victoria River district, northern Australia

Beth Crase A B , Ian D. Cowie A and Carrie R. Michell A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Biodiversity Conservation Division, Northern Territory Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts, PO Box 496, Palmerston, NT 0831, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: Beth.Crase@nt.gov.au

C Deceased.

Australian Journal of Botany 54(7) 641-653 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT05159
Submitted: 19 September 2005  Accepted: 14 March 2006   Published: 19 October 2006

Abstract

Targeted searches of approximately 150 km of cliff lines for two rare sandstone shrubs, Melaleuca triumphalis Craven and Stenostegia congesta A.R.Bean, thought to be restricted to the Victoria River gorge system within Gregory National Park, increased the number of known populations from 3 and 6 to 31 and 37, respectively. Both species occur predominantly in rocky and often fire-protected niches on sandstone cliffs and scree slopes, and are frequently associated with permanent drip-lines and seepage areas. Although their broad habitat requirements are similar, the two species do occur in slightly different niches. The data presented here suggest that M. triumphalis is reasonably fire tolerant, whereas S. congesta appears to be more fire sensitive. Weeds and introduced animals are not thought to pose a threat to these rare species. Models developed using remotely sensed and landscape-scale data (digital elevation models, radiometrics, geology and distance to rivers and streams) suggest that these species may also occur outside Gregory National Park in other areas of the Northern Territory such as on Bullo River and Bradshaw stations and in Keep River National Park. It is suggested that both species be regarded as Vulnerable under the IUCN guidelines.


Acknowledgments

Carrie Michell was responsible for much of the preparation and planning prior to the survey, organisation and co-ordination during the survey, and collation of data following the survey. Sadly, Carrie passed away in 2002, and we acknowledge her friendship and the contribution she made to the current knowledge of M. triumphalis and S. congesta. John Woinarski and Alaric Fisher are thanked for their recommendations on analyses and guidance provided during the drafting of the manuscript. We thank Chris Pavey, Raelee Kerrigan and Jenni Risler for comments on the manuscript, and Craig Hempel for assistance in mapping distributions. Fieldwork was completed as part of a Ranger Training Camp, involving Northern Territory Herbarium, Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife rangers and Aboriginal traditional owners. Participants in the fieldwork included Lily Gin.gina, Queenie Morgan, Jessie Brown, Paddy Bennet, Mr M. Bennett, Kym Brennan, Ian Cowie, Bob Harwood, Raelee Kerrigan, Greg Leach, Chris Mangion, Carrie Michell, Jenni Risler, David Rochford, Phillip Short, Sharon Wilson, Glenn Wightman, Colin Wilson, Greg Boehme, John Burke, Tracy Davies, Shauna Potter, Peter Ross, Rebecca Smith, Daniel Trudgeon, and Kerri Watkins. We also thank Nerida Holznagel, Mick Holten, Sarah Kerin, Darren Larcombe, Neville Muggeridge, Cameron Yates and district ranger staff for considerable assistance with logistic support and running the camp.


References


Bean AR (1998) Stenostegia congesta (Myrtaceae), a new genus and species from the Victoria River, Northern Territory, Australia. Muelleria 11, 127–132. open url image1

Bentham G (1866) ‘Flora Australiensis. Vol. 3.’ (Lovell Reeve & Co.: London)

Bradstock RA, Myerscough PJ (1988) The survival and population response to frequent fires of two woody resprouters Banksia serrata and Isopogon anemonifolius. Australian Journal of Botany 36, 415–431.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bradstock RA, Tozer MG, Keith DA (1997) Effects of high frequency fire on floristic composition and abundance in a fire-prone heathland near Sydney. Australian Journal of Botany 45, 641–655.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Brocklehurst P , Rampant P , VanKerckhof D , Edmeades B (1996) ‘Vegetation and Land Unit Survey of Gregory National Park, Northern Territory (N.T.).’ Resource Capability Assessment Branch, Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, Darwin, Australia.

Burgman MA (2002) Are listed threatened plant species actually at risk? Australian Journal of Botany 50, 1–13.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Clarke KR, Green RH (1988) Statistical design and analysis for a ‘biological effects’ study. Marine Ecology Progress Series 46, 213–226. open url image1

Clarke KR , Gorley RN (2001) ‘PRIMER v5: user manual/tutorial.’ (PRIMER-E: Plymouth)

Cowie ID , Albrecht DA (Eds) (2005) ‘Checklist of NT vascular plant species.’ <http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/wildlife/plants/checklist.html>.[Accessed 13 February 2006]

Craven LA (1998) A result of the 1996 Mueller Commemorative Expedition to northwestern Australia: Melaleuca triumphalis sp. nov. (Myrtaceae). Muelleria 11, 1–4. open url image1

Gill AM , Bradstock R (1995) Extinction of biota by fires. In ‘Conserving biodiversity: threats and solutions’. (Eds RA Bradstock, TD Auld, DA Keith, RT Kingsford, D Lunney, DP Sivertsen) pp. 308–322. (Surrey Beatty in association with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service: Sydney)

IUCN (2001) ‘IUCN Red List Categories: version 3.1.’ Prepared by the IUCN Species Survival Commission. (IUCN: Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK).

Keith DA (1996) Fire-driven extinction of plant populations: a synthesis of theory and review of evidence from Australian vegetation. Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of NSW 116, 37–78. open url image1

Keith DA (1998) An evaluation and modification of World Conservation Union Red List criteria for classification of extinction risk in vascular plants. Conservation Biology 12, 1076–1090.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Keith DA , Tozer MG (1997) Experimental design and resource requirements for monitoring flora in relation to fire. In ‘Bushfire 97’. (Eds BJ McKaige, RJ Williams, WM Waggitt) pp. 274–179. (CSIRO: Darwin)

Keith DA, Auld TD, Ooi MKJ, Mackenzie BDE (2000) Sensitivity analyses of decision rules in World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List criteria using Australian Plants. Biological Conservation 94, 311–319.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Mueller FJH (1864) Baeckea virgata. Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae 4, 69. open url image1

Pate JS, Froend RH, Bowen BJ, Hansen A, Kuo J (1990) Seedling growth and storage characteristics of seeder and resprouter species of Mediterranean-type ecosystems of S.W. Australia. Annals of Botany 65, 585–601. open url image1

Price O, Russell-Smith J, Edwards A (2003) Fine-scale patchiness of different fire intensities in sandstone heath vegetation in northern Australia. International Journal of Wildland Fire 12, 227–236.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Russell-Smith J, Ryan PG, Klessa D, Waight G, Harwood R (1998) Fire regimes, fire sensitive vegetation and fire management of the sandstone Arnhem Plateau, monsoonal northern Australia. Journal of Applied Ecology 35, 829–846.
Crossref |
open url image1

Russell-Smith J, Ryan PG, Cheal DC (2002) Fire regimes and the conservation of sandstone heath in monsoonal northern Australia: frequency, interval, patchiness. Biological Conservation 104, 91–106.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Russell-Smith JR, Yates C, Edwards A, Allan GE, Cook GD, Cooke P, Craig R, Heath B, Smith R (2003) Contemporary fire regimes of northern Australia, 1997–2001: change since Aboriginal occupancy, challenges for sustainable management. International Journal of Wildland Fire 12, 283–297.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Start T (2001) Shrubs in sandstone ranges. In ‘Savanna burning’. (Eds R Dyer, P Jacklyn, I Partridge, J Russell-Smith, D Williams) pp. 33. (Tropical Savannas CRC: Darwin)

Vigilante T (2001) Analysis of explorer’s records of Aboriginal landscape burning in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia. Australian Geographical Studies 39, 135–155.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Vigilante T, Bowman DMJS (2004) Effects of fire history on the structure and floristic composition of woody vegetation around Kalumburu, North Kimberley, Australia: a landscape-scale natural experiment. Australian Journal of Botany 52, 381–404.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wilford JR, Bierwirth PN, Craig MA (1997) Application of airborne gamma-ray spectrometry in soil/regolith mapping and applied geomorphology. AGSO Journal of Australian Geology & Geophysics 17, 201–216. open url image1

Williams RJ , Griffiths AD , Allan GE (2002) Fire regimes and biodiversity in the savannas of northern Australia. In ‘Flammable Australia: the fire regimes and biodiversity of a continent’. (Eds RA Bradstock, JE Williams, AM Gill) pp. 281–304. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK)

Yates C, Russell-Smith J (2003) Fire regimes and vegetation sensitivity analysis: an example from Bradshaw Station, monsoonal northern Australia. International Journal of Wildland Fire 12, 349–358.
Crossref |
open url image1

Yibarbuk D, Whitehead PJ, Russell-Smith J, Jackson D, Godjuwa C, Fisher A, Cooke P, Choquenot D, Bowman DMJS (2001) Fire ecology and Aboriginal land management in central Arnhem Land, northern Australia: a tradition of ecosystem management. Journal of Biogeography 28, 325–343.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1