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Native vegetation of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment in southeast NSW and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was classified into 75 plant communities across 18 NSW Vegetation Classes within nine Structural Formations. Plant communities were derived through numerical analysis of 4,106 field survey plots including 3,787 plots from 58 existing survey datasets and 319 new plots, which were sampled in under surveyed ecosystems. All plant communities are described at a level appropriate for discrimination of threatened ecological communities and distinct vegetation mapping units. The classification describes plant communities in the context of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment and surrounding landscapes of similar ecological character. It incorporates and, in some instances, refines identification of plant communities described in previous classifications of alpine vegetation, forest ecosystems, woodlands and grasslands across the Australian Alps and South Eastern Highlands within the upper Murrumbidgee catchment. Altitude, precipitation, soil saturation, lithology, slope, aspect and landscape position were all important factors in guiding plant community associations. Nine Threatened Ecological Communities under Commonwealth, NSW and ACT legislation occur in the upper Murrumbidgee catchment. This study has also identified five additional plant communities which are highly restricted in distribution and may require active management or protection to ensure their survival. Cunninghamia (2012) 13(1): 125–266 doi: 10.7751/cunninghamia.2013.13.003 126 Cunninghamia 13(1): 2013 Armstrong et al., Plant communities, upper Murrumbidgee al. 2009). In the development of the United States National Vegetation Classification System, Grossman et al. (1998) noted that vegetation classification ideally should be based on the analysis of high quality field data spanning the full geographic and environmental range of related vegetation, and the subsequent US National Vegetation Classification Standard Version 2.0 (FGDC 2008) proposed that natural vegetation types be derived from analysis of field plot data, with these data providing the fundamental information for the numerical description of types. Within NSW, many natural resource management decisions are made by Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) based on information and assessment at the scale of broad catchments. Within the Murrumbidgee CMA area and the ACT, the upper Murrumbidgee River catchment contains a diverse range of landscapes and vegetation types which are subject to ongoing land-use pressures including clearing of native vegetation for farming and urban development, urban expansion and ongoing pastoral management. The upper Murrumbidgee catchment has a relatively high density of existing vegetation survey plot data collected by previous vegetation studies, ranging from specific conservation reserve surveys to a large regional inventory of forest ecosystems on public lands, but to date it has not had a systematic classification of all plant communities across all Structural Formations across all tenures. This study aimed to classify and describe the native plant communities of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment at a consistent classification scale or level of detail, based on numerical analysis of the best available set of full-floristic field survey plot data. Plant communities were delineated and described at an ‘association’ level compatible with adjacent regional vegetation classifications and with NSW Scientific Committee determinations, and a level that could be recognised in the field by people with botanical training. The study will contribute to the NSW Vegetation Classification and Assessment project (Benson 2006) and the State-wide Vegetation Information System Classification Database (OEH unpublished a).

Plant communities of the upper Murrumbidgee catchment in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.