Identifying Threatened Ecological Communities

Because Threatened Ecological Communities are protected under the Threatened Species Conservation Act, 1995, and are considered in other legislation, it is important to be able to recognise them on the ground. When they are listed under the Threatened Species Conservation Act, 1995, the NSW Scientific Committee provides a broad overview on where the community is found and the characteristics that define in the ‘Final Determination’. To see Final Determinations for all listings under the Act, click here.

The exact composition and condition of an ecological community can vary from site to site due to both natural and anthropogenic factors. The factors causing such variation include individual species having limited ranges or being adapted to different climatic regimes, different levels or types of disturbance, different time periods since the last disturbance event (e.g. fire, clearing, drought), and the effects of urbanisation. Hence, the Final Determination provides an overview of characteristics that are most likely to occur across the range of the Threatened Ecological Community irrespective of this variation.

When identifying Threatened Ecological Communities look for the characteristics outlined in the Final Determination and refer to more specific local information on the composition of vegetation types in that area. DECC has identified the Vegetation Types that are most closely aligned to a particular Threatened Ecological Community for each Catchment Management Authority. This information is provided in each Threatened Ecological Community profile on this website.

Identification Guidelines have also been prepared for some Threatened Ecological Communities to provide people without a scientific background with some key indicators to look for when they are on the ground. They can also be found on the Threatened Ecological Community profile page on this site. If you suspect that vegetation on your land may be part of a Threatened Ecological Community, specialist advice may be required.

It is important to note that the criteria used to identify ecological communities under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, may be different to those used by the Commonwealth under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. For more information on nationally listed Threatened Ecological Communities see: www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/index.html