28 Boffa Miskell Ltd | Waihi North Project | Terrestrial Ecology Values and Effects of the WUG | 22 June 2022 5.1.3 Ecological Value of Vegetation Communities Vegetation community characteristics are summarised in Table 4. The vegetation communities within the Project Area on Willows Road farm have been assessed as having Low ecological value, while those in the CFP have Very High ecological value. Table 4: Ecological values of vegetation communities within the Project Area. Attribute Willows Road farm Coromandel Forest Park Representativeness Low Vegetation communities within the farm property have been highly modified through livestock grazing. Small fragments of native vegetation are limited to steep gullies with few vegetation tiers. Exotic species dominate. Very High Vegetation community is characteristic of mid-elevation native forests in the Coromandel12. All vegetation tiers are present and exotic species are rarely encountered. Rarity / distinctiveness Low No locally or regionally rare plant species or communities were observed within the terrestrial habitats on the farm property. Vegetation on the farm property did not contain distinctive ecological features (excluding the swamp maire described in Section 3.7). High Vegetation communities recorded are common within Coromandel Forest Park (approx. 72,000 ha). Pittosporum virgatum was recorded at Wharekirauponga, and if present within the Project Area would be near its southern distributional limit. Pittosporum virgatum and kauri (both Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable) and king fern (At risk – Declining) were recorded at Wharekirauponga. LENZ13 classification indicates that this habitat type is not rare, having > 30% left and > 20% protected 12 Rimu-tawa forest within the Coromandel Ranges and Hapuakohe Ranges is the largest vegetation unit within the District. Secondary growth kanuka forest and logged kauri and tawa forest are also well represented, with much of this forest type being present along the eastern flanks of the Hapuakohe Range and in the north-eastern hill country forests north and south of Waihi (Proposed Hauraki District Plan, Section 6.2 (November 2012)). 13 Land Environments New Zealand Category IV
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