Assessment of McKies Stringybark/Blackbutt Open Forest on NSW Crown Forest Estate

The operational map McKies Stringybark/Blackbutt Open Forest (MSBOF) was constructed to resolve long-standing issues surrounding its identification, location and extent within the NSW State Forest estate covered by the eastern Regional Forest Agreements. \r\nThe project’s Threatened Ecological Community (TEC) Reference Panel (the Panel) reviewed the determination for MSBOF and agreed upon a set of diagnostic parameters for its identification. These parameters included the presence of lateritic soils and the characteristic eucalypt species Eucalyptus mckieana and Eucalyptus andrewsii. Using these diagnostic parameters, we assessed whether MSBOF is present within more than 150 000 hectares of state forests within the Upper and Lower North East IFOA areas of the Nandewar and New England Bioregions. We began the assessment process by examining the distribution of Eucalyptus mckieana records in NSW Bionet and other available systematic plot data characterising regional vegetation patterns. We then used the results of a recently completed vegetation mapping in the region (OEH, 2015) to provide an indicative map of related vegetation communities within State Forests. From this initial investigation, we identified three state forests as candidate areas for MSBOF within the Project Study area – Mount Topper, New Valley and Clive State Forests. We collected systematic plot data from these state forests in mapped communities related to the TEC and from within stands of vegetation dominated by the primary eucalypt species described in the determination.\r\nOn this basis we identified four plots within Mount Topper State Forest as being MSBOF TEC and went on to construct an operational map at a scale commensurate with the needs of forestry field operations. In total, we mapped a total of 201 hectares of MSBOF, 101 hectares of which were contained in the IFOA area.\r\n\r\nOperational TEC Mapping have been derived by API at a viewing scale between 1-4000 using ADS40 50 cm pixel imagery and 1 m derived LIDAR DEM grids for floodplain EECs.

麦肯氏红桉/黑桉开阔林（McKies Stringybark/Blackbutt Open Forest, MSBOF）作业图的编制，旨在解决东部区域森林协议覆盖的新南威尔士州（New South Wales, NSW）国有林范围内，该群落长期以来在识别、分布位置与范围界定方面存在的遗留问题。本项目的濒危生态群落（Threatened Ecological Community, TEC）咨询专家组（下称专家组）对MSBOF的认定方案进行了审议，并敲定了一套用于识别该群落的诊断参数。该套参数包括砖红壤性土壤的存在特征，以及标志性桉树种——麦肯氏桉（Eucalyptus mckieana）与安德鲁斯桉（Eucalyptus andrewsii）。依托这套诊断参数，我们对南德瓦尔（Nandewar）与新英格兰（New England）生物地理区内上东北和下东北综合林业作业区（IFOA）范围内超过15万公顷的国有林开展了MSBOF分布评估。评估初期，我们先梳理了新南威尔士州生物多样性数据库（NSW Bionet）中的麦肯氏桉分布记录，以及其他可获取的、用于表征区域植被格局的系统样地数据。随后，我们利用该区域近期完成的植被制图成果（新南威尔士州环境与遗产办公室, 2015），生成了国有林内相关植被群落的参考分布图。通过初步调查，我们在项目研究范围内筛选出三处疑似分布MSBOF的国有林：托珀山（Mount Topper）、新谷（New Valley）与克莱夫（Clive）国有林。我们针对这三处国有林内已制图的TEC相关植被群落，以及认定方案中提及的优势桉树种主导的林分，采集了系统样地数据。基于上述数据，我们确认托珀山国有林内的4块样地属于MSBOF濒危生态群落，并据此编制了契合林业野外作业需求的作业图。最终我们共划定了201公顷的MSBOF分布范围，其中101公顷位于IFOA范围内。

本次针对泛滥平原濒危生态群落（Endangered Ecological Community, EEC）的作业式TEC制图，由API依托ADS40 50厘米分辨率像素影像，以及1米分辨率激光雷达数字高程模型（Light Detection and Ranging Digital Elevation Model, LIDAR DEM）栅格数据，以1:4000的比例尺完成编制。