Range extension, habitat and conservation status of three rare mallees, Eucalyptus castrensis, Eucalyptus fracta and Eucalyptus pumila from the Hunter Valley, NSW

New populations of three threatened mallee species, Eucalyptus castrensis K.D.Hill, Eucalyptus fracta K.D.Hill and Eucalyptus pumila Cambage (all Myrtaceae), have recently been found in the Singleton Military Area in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales (32°45’S, 151°15’E). Each population is significant as they increase the known distribution and total numbers of three highly restricted species. Details of the habitat and size of each additional population are given and conservation notes provided

Leionema westonii (Rutaceae), a rare, new species from north-eastern New South Wales, Australia

Leionema westonii L.M.Copel. & I.Telford (Rutaceae), a rare, new species endemic to montane north-eastern New South Wales, is named as new. The species appears to be allied to L. gracile (C.T.White) Paul G.Wilson and a table comparing selected attributes of the two species is presented. A map showing the distributions of both species is presented. The conservation status, habitat and phenology of the new species are discussed

Post-fire recovery of woody plants in the New England Tableland Bioregion

The resprouting response of plant species to fire is a key life history trait that has profound effects on post-fire population dynamics and community composition. This study documents the post-fire response (resprouting and maturation times) of woody species in six contrasting formations in the New England Tableland Bioregion of eastern Australia. Rainforest had the highest proportion of resprouting woody taxa and rocky outcrops had the lowest. Surprisingly, no significant difference in the median maturation length was found among habitats, but the communities varied in the range of maturation times. Within these communities, seedlings of species killed by fire, mature faster than seedlings of species that resprout. The slowest maturing species were those that have canopy held seed banks and were killed by fire, and these were used as indicator species to examine fire immaturity risk. Finally, we examine whether current fire management immaturity thresholds appear to be appropriate for these communities and find they need to be amended

Expert allocation of primary growth form to the New South Wales flora underpins the biodiversity assessment method

Biodiversity values under the New South Wales (NSW) Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 are assessed in part according to the number and cover of native plant species within each of six growth form groups (trees, shrubs, grasses and grass-like, forbs, ferns, and others). Here we revise 19 growth form descriptions and use an independent expert process to allocate the most common (primary) growth form to the native terrestrial vascular plant flora of NSW. Independent allocations made by three botanists concurred for 6,153 taxa (84.7 per cent of the flora) and the remaining 1,112 taxa were resolved via a structured consensus making process. Allocation of each taxon to primary growth form has generated a single point of reference for the most common growth form for each native vascular plant species, expressed in its mature state across the extent of its range in NSW. The work presented here was undertaken to support transparent, repeatable and rigorous assessments of the richness and cover of growth form groups for the NSW Biodiversity Assessment Method. However, our approach and findings will be relevant to any government agency, industry group or researcher that uses plant growth forms to simplify ecological complexity or to assess the site-scale biodiversity values of terrestrial vegetation

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

'Commersonia rosea' (Malvaceae s.l.: Lasiopetaleae): a new, rare fire-ephemeral species from the upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales

'Commersonia rosea' S.A.J. Bell & L.M. Copel., a fire-ephemeral species from the Central Western Slopes of New South Wales is described as new. Notes on its distribution, ecology and conservation status are given. The species is currently known from just four small populations, totalling c. 200 plants, and is considered endangered

'Acacia atrox' subsp. 'planiticola' (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae), a new threatened subspecies from the North Western Plains of New South Wales, Australia

'Acacia atrox' Kodela subsp. 'planticola' Kodela & L.M.Copel., a new, rare and threatened subspecies, is described and illustrated. Notes are also given on its distribution, habitat, etymology and conservation status. The subspecies is known only from a single population in Kirramingly Nature Reserve on the North Western Plains of New South Wales, Australia. With its unusual, sharply pungent-pointed, sessile, basally dilated phyllodes, subsp. 'planiticola' appears to be closely related to typical 'Acacia atrox' Kodela, and both taxa are thought to be clonal with plants spreading vegetatively beneath the ground via root suckers. Although all plants are in a conservation reserve, 'Acacia atrox' subsp. 'planiticola' is considered threatened due to its small population size and its vulnerability to stochastic event

Range extension, habitat and conservation status of three rare mallees, 'Eucalyptus castrensis', 'Eucalyptus fracta' and 'Eucalyptus pumila' from the Hunter Valley, NSW

New populations of three threatened mallee species, 'Eucalyptus castrensis' K.D.Hill, 'Eucalyptus fracta' K.D.Hill and 'Eucalyptus pumila' Cambage (all Myrtacea), have recently been found in the Singleton Military Area in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales (32°45'S, 151°15'E). Each population is significant as they increase the known distribution and total numbers of three highly restricted species. Details of the habitat and size of each additional population are given and conservation notes provided

Range extensions and conservation status of 18 restricted plant species in north-eastern New South Wales

During recent surveys within north-eastern New South Wales new records of range extensions for some significant plant taxa were recorded. The implications for the conservation status of each taxon in terms of their ROTAP status (Briggs & Leigh 1996) are discussed. It is important that management decisions concerning rare taxa are made using the most up-to-date information possible, hence the need to report new distributions and suggest changes in conservation status. Vouchers of all taxa discussed have been lodged at the NCW Beadle Herbarium at the Division of Botany, University of New England and/or at the Herbarium of the North Coast Regional Botanic Garden, Coffs Harbour. In the following notes National Park is abbreviated to NP and Nature Reserve to NR

Acacia atrox subsp. planiticola (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae), a new threatened subspecies from the North Western Plains of New South Wales, Australia

Acacia atrox Kodela subsp. planiticola Kodela & L.M.Copel., a new, rare and threatened subspecies, is described and illustrated. Notes are also given on its distribution, habitat, etymology and conservation status. The subspecies is known only from a single population in Kirramingly Nature Reserve on the North Western Plains of New South Wales, Australia. With its unusual, sharply pungent-pointed, sessile, basally dilated phyllodes, subsp. planiticola appears to be closely related to typical Acacia atrox Kodela, and both taxa are thought to be clonal with plants spreading vegetatively beneath the ground via root suckers. Although all plants are in a conservation reserve, Acacia atrox subsp. planiticola is considered threatened due to its small population size and its vulnerability to stochastic event