Appendix 3: Vegetation Descriptions for Willows Road Farm and Potential Vent Raise Sites Boffa Miskell Ltd | Waihi North Project | Terrestrial Ecology Values and Effects of the WUG Coromandel Forest Park: Potential Vent Sites Within the Paper Road Site 1 Nikau dominates the canopy, interspersed with tree ferns. Pigeonwood and hangehange form a sparse understory. The western corner of the site contains a grouping of ponga that contributes to increased leaf litter in this area. Leaf litter depth throughout the remainder of the site is shallow due to the plant species present. Supplejack dominates the eastern side of the site and is an abundant plant in the mid-tier. There were no large tree species (>40 cm DBH) or species suitable for bat roosts. ‘Threatened / At Risk’ plant species were not present within the survey area. Other survey information: Site 1 was surveyed for Archey’s frogs over three nights in 2021 (Table 1). Weather conditions were favourable for frog emergence (>13 C° and >80% relative humidity), with vegetation, leaf litter and soil recorded as ‘Moist-Wet’ during surveys (Cree 1989) (Table 1). Four of the five frogs recorded were in the western corner of the site utilising ponga as a habitat resource. No ‘Threatened / At Risk’ invertebrate species were identified during frog surveys. Table 1: Survey details from Archey’s frog searches at Site 1 Date Survey Effort (hrs) Average Temperature (C°) Average Relative Humidity (RH) % Number of frogs found 30/03/2021 13 19.05 95.55 3 11/04/2021 5.5 17.2 98.95 0 12/04/2021 15 19.5 97 2 Suitability for vent site: The vegetation and physiography of Site 1 is suitable for a vent site as the area is relatively flat and there were no ‘Threatened / At Risk’ plant species or large tree species (>40 cm DBH). The site overall is assessed as unsuitable due to the number of frogs found. Site 2 Bordering Site 1, Site 2 is also dominated by nikau and tree ferns. No tree species exceed >40 cm DBH and no trees were suitable for bat roosting. Site 2 has more diversity in the undergrowth and mid-layers, with hangehange, pigeonwood, kanono and mahoe present. Seedlings of these forest species, and additionally rewarewa, are sparsely location on the forest floor. Kiekie, tank lily and supplejack are the most abundant epiphytic species in the site – these species are associated with
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