Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub (ESBS) is listed as endangered on Schedule 1 Part 3 of the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and as endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
It is a sclerophyllous heath/scrub community that once occupied approximately 5,300 hectares between North Head and Botany Bay in the Sydney Basin Bioregion. Today, only 146 hectares of ESBS remains in small, isolated remnants on a range of tenures including private, Local, State and Commonwealth Government land.
ESBS occurs on disjunct patches of nutrient poor, aeolian dune sand and may contain small patches of woodland, low forest or limited wetter areas, depending on site topography and hydrology. Commonly recorded species of the community include Banksia aemula, Banksia ericifolia, Banksia serrata, Eriostemon australasius, Lepidosperma laterale, Leptospermum laevigatum, Monotoca elliptica, Pteridium esculentum, Ricinocarpos pinifolius and Xanthorrhoea resinifera.
A major threat to ESBS is the further loss and fragmentation of habitat as a consequence of clearing and development. Other known threats include: altered nutrient flows and hydrological regimes; weed invasion; inappropriate fire regimes; mowing, slashing and the inappropriate use of herbicides; grazing by horses and rabbits; over shading; infection by Phytophthora cinnamomi; erosion and physical damage from surface water run-off, bicycles, motor vehicles, horses, rabbits and excessive pedestrian use; inappropriate plantings; factors affecting pollination and seed dispersal processes; seed and wildflower collection; and the dumping of rubbish (including construction materials and green waste).
