Common use of Vegetation Clause in Contracts

Vegetation. ‌ The Covered Area occurs in the High Plains and Trans-Pecos ecoregions (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department [TPWD] 2020b). According to TPWD’s ecological land classification, the Covered Area contains as many as 16 different vegetation communities but 99.6% of the Covered Area consists of Sand Prairie, Sandhill Shinnery Duneland, Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx Shrubland, and Active Sand Dunes associated with the High Plains ecoregions (TPWD 2020a). The remaining portions of the Covered Area include various types of barrens, shrublands, grasslands/prairie, vegetated dunelands, depressional/riparian wetlands, row crops; and low and high intensity urban development (TPWD 2020c). Descriptions of the four dominant vegetation communities are provided below in Table 4. Table 4. TPWD Vegetation Communities in the Covered Area Vegetation Community Description Vegetation Species Commonly Present Sand Prairie Grasslands that occupy deep sands to shallower xxxxx loam, and sandhills Giant dropseed (Sporobolus giganteus), sand dropseed (S. cryptandrus), sand bluestem (Andropogon hallii), big bluestem (A. gerardii), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), thin paspalum (Paspalum setaceum), big sandreed (Calamovilfa gigantea), and common sandbur (Cenchrus spinifex); woody species including sand sage (Artemisia filifolia) and shinnery oak may be present Sandhill Shinnery Duneland Shrubland on deep sand or sandhill sites Shinnery oak; other shrub species commonly encountered including sand sage and honey mesquite; plains yucca (Yucca glauca) is a common succulent; giant dropseed, sand dropseed, and Mediterranean lovegrass (Eragrostis barrelieri) are common grasses Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx Shrubland Areas with xxxxx soils close to deep sands Shinnery oak, sand sage and honey mesquite; sand dropseed, little bluestem, annual buckwheat (Eriogonum annuum), fringed signalgrass (Urochloa ciliatissima), and Mediterranean lovegrass are common grasses Active Sand Dunes Areas on deep sand and sandhills lacking significant vegetative cover Scattered honey mesquite, sand sage, shinnery oak, sand dropseed, sand bluestem, Havard panicum (Panicum havardii), Mediterranean lovegrass, and other grasses Source: Xxxxxxx 2014

Vegetation. ‌ The Covered Area occurs in the High Plains and Trans-Pecos ecoregions (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department [TPWD] 2020b). According to TPWD’s ecological land classification, the Covered Area contains as many as 16 different vegetation communities but 99.6% 99.6 percent of the Covered Area consists of Sand Prairie, Sandhill Shinnery Duneland, Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx Shrubland, and Active Sand Dunes associated with the High Plains ecoregions (TPWD 2020a). The remaining portions of the Covered Area include various types of barrens, shrublands, grasslands/prairie, vegetated dunelands, depressional/riparian wetlands, row crops; and low and high intensity urban development (TPWD 2020c). Descriptions of the four dominant vegetation communities are provided below in Table 4. Table 4. TPWD Vegetation Communities in the Covered Area Vegetation Community Description Vegetation Species Commonly Present Sand Prairie Grasslands that occupy deep sands to shallower xxxxx loam, and sandhills Giant dropseed (Sporobolus giganteus), sand dropseed (S. cryptandrus), sand bluestem (Andropogon hallii), big bluestem (A. gerardii), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), thin paspalum (Paspalum setaceum), big sandreed (Calamovilfa gigantea), and common sandbur (Cenchrus spinifex); woody species including sand sage (Artemisia filifolia) and shinnery oak may be present Sandhill Shinnery Duneland Shrubland on deep sand or sandhill sites Shinnery oak; other shrub species commonly encountered including sand sage and honey mesquite; plains yucca (Yucca glauca) is a common succulent; giant dropseed, sand dropseed, and Mediterranean lovegrass (Eragrostis barrelieri) are common grasses Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx Shrubland Areas with xxxxx soils close to deep sands Shinnery oak, sand sage and honey mesquite; sand dropseed, little bluestem, annual buckwheat (Eriogonum annuum), fringed signalgrass (Urochloa ciliatissima), and Mediterranean lovegrass are common grasses Active Sand Dunes Areas on deep sand and sandhills lacking significant vegetative cover Scattered honey mesquite, sand sage, shinnery oak, sand dropseed, sand bluestem, Havard panicum (Panicum havardii), Mediterranean lovegrass, and other grasses Source: Xxxxxxx 20142014 The Covered Area is heterogeneous and land cover classifications for broad areas depict the dominant land cover for an area and may inadvertently include other land covers that are less dominant. The ecological classification by TPWD maps the Covered Area according to land cover and abiotic features that may or may not be ecologically relevant or at a spatial scale relevant to individuals of the Covered Species. The Covered Species is a territorial habitat specialist of shinnery oak sand dunes with blowouts, or shinnery oak hummocks occasionally interspersed with honey mesquite, and makes localized movements between 65 to 100 feet within home ranges averaging 0.15 acres to 0.25 acres (Xxxx and Xxxxxxxxxx 2007; Xxxxxx et al. 2013; TAMU 2016; Xxxxx et al. 2018). Thus the Covered Species habitat may be further refined into ecologically relevant categories of land cover for the Covered Species based on the scientific literature and site-specific habitat assessments (Xxxxxxxxxx and Xxxxx 1972; Xxxxxxxxxx et al. 1997; Xxxxxxxxxx et al. 2011; Xxxxxxx et al. 2016; Xxxx 1985; Xxxxxx et al. 2018). The Texas State University model (Hardy et al. 2018) provides the potential geographic range of what constitutes potential DSL Habitat for purposes of the 2020 DSL CCAA. The model contains four ranked categories of habitat suitability: Shinnery Oak Duneland (High Suitability), Shinnery Oak Honey Mesquite Duneland (Intermediate I Suitability), Shinnery Oak Shrubland (flats) (Intermediate II Suitability), and Shinnery Oak-Honey Mesquite Shrubland (Low Suitability). Figure 1 of the Covered Area shows the locations and spatial extents of each of these categories. Because the model approximates DSL Habitat over a large scale, multiple land cover types at finer local scales may be grouped together under one category. This arid system is a drought adapted system and vegetation derives moisture from both precipitation and groundwater (Xxxxxxxxxx 1984; Xxxxxxxx and Xxxx 1998). Major historic threats to this system include overgrazing (Xxxxxxxx and Xxxx 1998) and water supply for ranching and agriculture (NRCS 1999), which may reduce vegetative cover and lead to an increase in wind erosion. ). Though Xxxx (2019) suggests that recent industrial use of groundwater will lead to groundwater depletion over time that may affect vegetation, Rainwater (2020) indicates that groundwater use by the two sand mining operations visited and evaluated in that study has no permanent effect on the water table, including due to recycling and re-use of groundwater by sand mining operations, and natural recharge of the water table. Accordingly, Rainwater (2020) found that those two sand mining operations are not likely to have long term or permanent effects on surface vegetation due to water use or consumption. Rainwater (2020) also found that because rain percolates readily through sand dunes into the Pecos Valley Aquifer, annual recharge rates to the Pecos Valley aquifer exceed groundwater consumption rates from the aquifer at each of the additional sand mining sites reviewed.

Vegetation. ‌ Regional ecosystem (RE) mapping undertaken by the state government for the south-east Queensland bioregion at the scale of 1:100,000, classifies approximately two-thirds of the property as remnant vegetation. RE’s 12.11.1 & 12.8.3 are identified as having a 50/50 percent co- dominance within the larger polygon that encompasses the property and adjoining forests. A description of each RE is provided below. The Covered Area Remnant Native Vegetation Mosaics of Lands within Caloundra City Council (LAMR, 2000) maps the vegetation in the larger polygon as being dominated by vegetation community V2 (40%), E3 (30%), vegetation communities V5 and V1 are also listed as occurring. A list of plant taxa recorded on the subject land is provided in Appendix 1. To date two threatened species of flora as listed in the Queensland Nature Conservation Act (1992) Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation (1994) SL 36 of 1998. One of these species is listed as vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (2000). There is a possibility that the following threatened plant species may also occur on the property. Ground truthing will include targeted searches for the following:- Botanical Name Common Name NCA Status EPBC Status Vegetation community Austromyrtus inophloia Thready-barked myrtle Rare - RF Lepiderema pulchella Fine-leaved tuckeroo Rare - RF Helicia ferruginea Xxxxx oak Rare - RF Macadamia ternifolia Maroochy nut Vulnerable Vulnerable RF Syzigium hodgkinsoniae Red Xxxxx Xxxxx Vulnerable Vulnerable RF Pouteria eerwah Shiny-leaved condoo Endangered Endangered RF Plectranthus torrebticola Endangered Endangered OF Vegetation Community Descriptions Rainforest communities The Remnant Native Vegetation Mosaics of Lands within Caloundra City Council (LAMR, 2000) maps the dominant vegetation on the property as Vine forests on basalt including Eucalyptus grandis (V2). It is described as one of the most floristically and structurally diverse and complex rainforest communities in the region. This community occurs in the High Plains and Trans-Pecos ecoregions (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department [TPWD] 2020b). According to TPWD’s ecological land classification, the Covered Area contains as many as 16 different vegetation communities but 99.6% upper reaches of the Covered Area consists of Sand Prairie, Sandhill Shinnery Duneland, Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx Shrubland, main gully below the Maleny-Kenilworth Rd. This community is analogous with RE 12.8.3. Regional ecosystem 12.11.1 (analogous with V5) also occurs on the property further down slope along the main gully and Active Sand Dunes associated with slopes. This RE can be described as evergreen notophyll rainforest and/or Lophostemon confertus closed forest in gullies on Mesozoic to Proterozoic moderately to strongly deformed sediments and interbedded volcanics. Some regeneration is evident along the High Plains ecoregions (TPWD 2020a)edges where the forest abuts pasture. The remaining portions conservation status of these two Regional ecosystems is summarised below (source Xxxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx 2000):- Regional ecosystem 12.8.3 VMA status - no concern at present Reserved extent – Low In 2000 40% remained of the Covered Area include various types pre-clearing extent of barrens, shrublands, grasslands/prairie, vegetated dunelands, depressional/riparian wetlands, row crops; and low and high intensity urban development (TPWD 2020c). Descriptions of the four dominant vegetation communities are provided below in Table 4. Table 4. TPWD Vegetation Communities in the Covered Area Vegetation Community Description Vegetation Species Commonly Present Sand Prairie Grasslands that occupy deep sands to shallower xxxxx loam, and sandhills Giant dropseed (Sporobolus giganteus), sand dropseed (S. cryptandrus), sand bluestem (Andropogon hallii), big bluestem (A. gerardii), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), thin paspalum (Paspalum setaceum), big sandreed (Calamovilfa gigantea), and common sandbur (Cenchrus spinifex); woody species including sand sage (Artemisia filifolia) and shinnery oak may be present Sandhill Shinnery Duneland Shrubland on deep sand or sandhill sites Shinnery oak; other shrub species commonly encountered including sand sage and honey mesquite; plains yucca (Yucca glauca) is a common succulent; giant dropseed, sand dropseed, and Mediterranean lovegrass (Eragrostis barrelieri) are common grasses Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx Shrubland Areas with xxxxx soils close to deep sands Shinnery oak, sand sage and honey mesquite; sand dropseed, little bluestem, annual buckwheat (Eriogonum annuum), fringed signalgrass (Urochloa ciliatissima), and Mediterranean lovegrass are common grasses Active Sand Dunes Areas on deep sand and sandhills lacking significant vegetative cover Scattered honey mesquite, sand sage, shinnery oak, sand dropseed, sand bluestem, Havard panicum (Panicum havardii), Mediterranean lovegrass, and other grasses Source: Xxxxxxx 201426,100 ha.