Acacia axillaris Benth. had been recommended for
downgrading from a conservation status of vulnerable to one of rare in
response to changed knowledge of its distribution. Ecological investigations
of its phytosociology, stand structure, germination requirements, soil seed
store and response to fire and disturbance indicate, however, that it is
susceptible to elimination by fire regimes that allow the survival of most of
its co-occurring species and most other Australian species of
Acacia. The species is also vulnerable to land clearance
and weed competition in the lowland part of its range, which is largely on
private land.A. axillaris may be a refugial species,
better suited to glacial Tasmania than to interglacial Tasmania. On ecological
evidence, the species should retain its conservation status of vulnerable to
extinction.
