Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 87(2), June 2004 
Keighery et al. (1995) listed Neurachtie sp (GJK & JA 
1951) as a common perennial grass of the Eucalyptus 
ebbanoensis woodlands of the lower slopes. This taxon 
was not recorded during the current survey. Common 
perennial grasses recorded included Amphipogon strictus, 
Austrostipa trichophylla, and Austrostipa elegantissima. The 
Neurachne may have been missed due to lateness of the 
survey. The distribution of this species on the range 
needs clarification. 
A significant number of new populations of Grevillea 
erectiloba and Grevillea georgeana were located during the 
present survey. These species are of conservation concern 
(Atkins 2001). Grevillea georgeana generally occurs on 
massive banded ironstone while G. erectiloba generally 
occurs on yellow sands over laterites around the base of 
the range. Of the five regional endemics of the banded 
ironstones and associated soils of the Helena and Aurora 
70 km to the south (Gibson et al 1997), Grevillea erectiloba , 
Grevillea georgeana and Mirbelia sp Helena & Aurora (BJL 
2003) occur as far north as the Mt Manning Range. 
The main section of the Mt Manning Range is in an 
enclave of Unallocated Crown Land within the Mt 
Manning Nature Reserve ("the doughnut reserve" Fig 1). 
So despite being surrounded by a Nature Reserve only a 
few hundred hectares of the vegetation of the Mt 
Manning greenstone belt is presently reserved 
(Greenfield 2001). 
The present survey clearly shows that the ridge and 
slope communities are fundamentally different in 
composition from those reported for the Helena and 
Aurora Range (Gibson et al. 1997). The Helena and 
Aurora Range is also composed of massive banded 
ironstones of the same age (Chin & Smith 1983). The 
differences in vegetation and flora most likely reflect 
differences in present day climate, or past history during 
the arid periods of the Tertiary (Hopper 1979), or both. 
Previous studies have suggested that the vegetation of 
the range is most similar to that on the Die Hardy Range 
(Beard's Die Hardy vegetation system), this remains to 
be tested. 
The vegetation of the Mt Manning Range like the 
vegetation of the Helena & Aurora and Die Hardy 
Ranges is very poorly conserved. Our work supports the 
recommendations of CALM (1994) and Keighery et al. 
(1995) that the Mt Manning Range should become part of 
the Mt Manning Nature Reserve. 
Acknowledgements: B Moyle assisted with the field work and M Lyons 
in drafting the map. The following people are thanked for assistance with 
identifications in their particular field of expertise: G Keighery, B Lepschi, 
M Lyons, B Maslin, B Rye, B Simon, M Trudgen, J Wheeler and P Wilson. 
References 
Atkins K 2001 Declared Rare and Priority flora list. CALM, 
Perth. 
Beard JS 1972 The Vegetation of the Jackson Area, Western 
Australia. Vegmap, Perth. 
Beard JS 1976 Vegetation survey of Western Australia, 1:1000000 
series, Sheet 6 Murchinson. University of Western Australia 
Press, Nedlands 
Beard JS 1990 Plant Life of Western Australia. Kangaroo Press, 
Kenthurst. 
Belbin L 1991 Semi-strong hybrid scaling, a new ordination 
algorithm. Journal of Vegetation Science 2: 491-496. 
Belbin L 1995 PATN Users Manual. CSIRO, Canberra, 219-220. 
Bureau of Meteorology (www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/ 
tables/cw_012242.shtml) accessed 15 Feb 2005. 
Busby JR 1986 A biogeoclimatic analysis of Nothofagus 
cunninghamii (Hook.) Oerst, in southeastern Australia. 
Australian Journal of Ecology 11:1-7. 
CALM (1994) Regional Management Plan 1994-2004, Goldfields 
Region. Department of Conservation & Land Management, 
Perth 
Chen SF & Wyche S 2001 Geology of the Bungalbin 1:100000 
sheet. 1:100000 Geological Series Explanatory Notes, Western 
Australia Geology Survey, Perth. 
Chin RJ & Smith RA 1983 Jackson, Western Australia. 1:250000 
Geological Series Explanatory Notes, Western Australia 
Geology Survey, Perth. 
Dufrene M & Legendre P 1997 Species assemblages and 
indicator species: The need for a flexible asymmetrical 
approach. Ecological Monographs 67: 345-366. 
Faith DP & Norris RH 1989 Correlation of environmental 
variables with patterns of distribution and abundance of 
common and rare freshwater macro-invertebrates. Biological 
Conservation 50: 77-98. 
Gibson N, Burbidge AH, Keighery GJ & Lyons MN 2000 The 
temperate to arid transition of the Irwin-Carnarvon 
phytogeographic boundary. Western Australia. Records of 
the Western Australian Museum Supplement. 61:155-173. 
Gibson N, Lyons MN, & Lepschi BJ 1997 Flora and vegetation of 
the eastern goldfields ranges, 1. Helena and Aurora Range. 
CALMScience 2: 231-246. 
Gibson N & Lyons MN 1998a Flora and vegetation of the eastern 
goldfields ranges: Part 2. Bremer Range. Journal of the Royal 
Society of Western Australia 81:107-117. 
Gibson N & Lyons MN 1998b Flora and vegetation of the eastern 
goldfields ranges: Part 3. Parker Range. Journal of the Royal 
Society of Western Australia 81:119-129. 
Gibson N & Lyons MN 2001a Flora and vegetation of the eastern 
goldfields ranges: Part 4. Highclere Hills. Journal of the Royal 
Society of Western Australia 84: 71-81. 
Gibson N & Lyons MN 2001b Flora and vegetation of the eastern 
goldfields ranges: Part 5. Hunt Range, Yendilberin and Watt 
Hillls. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 84: 
129-142. 
Greenfield J 2001 Geology of the Lake Giles 1:100000 sheet. 
1:100000 Geological Series Explanatory Notes, Western 
Australia Geology Survey, Perth. 
Hopper, SD 1979 Biogeographical aspects of speciation in the 
southwest Australian flora. Annual Review of Systematics 
and Ecology 10: 399-422. 
Keighery GJ, Milewski AV & Hall NJ 1995 Vegetation and flora. 
In: The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of 
Western Australia. Part 12. Barlee-Menzies Study Area. 
Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 49: 
183-207. 
McArthur WM 1991 Reference Soils of South-western Australia. 
Department of Agriculture, Perth 
McCune B & Mefford MJ 1999 PC-ORD. Multivariate Analysis of 
Ecological Data, Version 4. MjM Software Design, Gleneden 
Beach, Oregon, USA. 
Milewski AV & Hall NJ 1995 Physical Environment. In: The 
Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of Western 
Australia. Part 12. Barlee-Menzies Study Area. Records of the 
Western Australian Museum Supplement 49:174-182. 
Muir BG 1977 Biological survey of the Western Australian 
wheatbelt. Part II. Records of the Western Australian 
Museum Supplement 3. 
Paczkowska G & Chapman AR 2000 The Western Australian 
Flora: A Descriptive Catalogue. Wildflower Society of 
42 
