Cape York Peninsula tropical savanna | |
---|---|
Ecology | |
Realm | Australasian |
Biome | tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands |
Borders | |
Geography | |
Area | 121,160 km2 (46,780 sq mi) |
Country | Australia |
States | |
Coordinates | 13°30′S142°36′E / 13.5°S 142.6°E Coordinates: 13°30′S142°36′E / 13.5°S 142.6°E |
Conservation | |
Conservation status | Relatively stable/intact |
Protected | 35,713 km² (29%) [1] |
Cape York Peninsula Queensland | |||||||||||||||
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Area | 122,564.57 km2 (47,322.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
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The Cape York Peninsula tropical savanna is a tropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in northern Australia. It occupies the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, mainland Australia's northernmost point. [2] It is coterminous with the Cape York Peninsula (code CYP), [3] an interim Australian bioregion. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
The ecoregion covers the northern portion of the Cape York Peninsula, along with the adjacent Torres Strait Islands. It is bounded by the Carpentaria tropical savanna ecoregion to the southwest, Einasleigh Uplands savanna to the south, and Queensland tropical rain forests to the southeast.[ citation needed ]
The west of the region is dominated in the south by an extensive Tertiary sand sheet dissected by the drainage systems of the Holroyd Plain, the Tertiary laterite of the Weipa Plateau, and the low rises of Mesozoic sandstones, while the northern section consists of the Weipa Plateau together with extensive coastal plains along the Gulf of Carpentaria. To the east lie aeolian dunefields. [9] Along the eastern margin, the geology of the Coen-Yambo Inlier is complex, with volcanic, metamorphic and acid intrusive rocks. [9] The subregion of the Battle Camp Sandstones, formed from deeply dissected plateaus, lies in the south of the region, [9] with the Laura Lowlands, composed of sands and silts, and colluvial and alluvial clays, lying adjacent. [9]
The climate is tropical, humid or maritime, with rainfall varying from 1000 mm to 1600 mm, including some high-rainfall areas at high elevations. [9]
The vegetation mainly consists of woodlands, heathlands, sedgelands, vine forests (including both semi-deciduous vine forests on the eastern ranges and deciduous vine thickets on western slopes). Mangrove forests are found in the north east and along the estuaries on the coasts. [9]
In the IBRA system, Cape York Peninsula (CYP) has nine sub-regions: [10]
IBRA regions and subregions: IBRA7 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
IBRA subregion | IBRA code | Area | ||
ha | acres | |||
Coen-Yambo Inlier | CYP01 | 2,312,126 | 5,713,390 | |
Starke Coastal Lowlands | CYP02 | 512,498 | 1,266,410 | |
Cape York-Torres Strait | CYP03 | 94,367 | 233,190 | |
Jardine-Pascoe Sandstones | CYP04 | 1,444,223 | 3,568,750 | |
Battle Camp Sandstones | CYP05 | 504,409 | 1,246,420 | |
Laura Lowlands | CYP06 | 1,791,228 | 4,426,220 | |
Weipa Plateau | CYP07 | 2,848,753 | 7,039,420 | |
Northern Holroyd Plain | CYP08 | 2,464,074 | 6,088,860 | |
Coastal Plains | CYP09 | 284,780 | 703,700 |
Protected areas in the ecoregion include Alwal National Park, Binirr National Park, Cape Melville National Park, Muundhi National Park, Apudthama National Park, Kulla National Park, Rinyirru National Park, Olkola National Park, Oyala Thumotang National Park, and Wuthathi (Shelburne Bay) National Park.[ citation needed ]
The Carnarvon xeric shrublands is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion of Western Australia. The ecoregion is coterminous with the Carnarvon Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) bioregion.
The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities. It was developed for use as a planning tool, for example for the establishment of a national reserve system. The first version of IBRA was developed in 1993–94 and published in 1995.
The Barkly Tableland is a rolling plain of grassland in Australia. It runs from the eastern part of the Northern Territory into western Queensland. It is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory and covers 283,648 square kilometres (109,517 sq mi), 21% of the Northern Territory. The Barkly Tableland runs parallel to the southern shore of the Gulf of Carpentaria, from about Mount Isa, Queensland to near Daly Waters.
Warren, also known as Karri Forest Region and the Jarrah-Karri forest and shrublands ecoregion, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia. Located in the southwest corner of Western Australia between Cape Naturaliste and Albany, it is bordered to the north and east by the Jarrah Forest region. Its defining characteristic is an extensive tall forest of Eucalyptus diversicolor (karri). This occurs on dissected, hilly ground, with a moderately wet climate. Karri is a valuable timber and much of the karri forest has been logged over, but less than a third has been cleared for agriculture. Recognised as a region under the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA), and as a terrestrial ecoregion by the World Wide Fund for Nature, it was first defined by Ludwig Diels in 1906.
The Avon Wheatbelt is a bioregion in Western Australia. It has an area of 9,517,104 hectares. It is considered part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion.
Gascoyne is an interim Australian bioregion located in Western Australia. It has an area of 180,752.57 square kilometres (69,788.96 sq mi). Together with Murchison bioregion to the south, it constitutes the Western Australian Mulga shrublands ecoregion, as assessed by the World Wildlife Fund.
Geraldton Sandplains is an interim Australian bioregion of Western Australia. It has an area of 3,142,149 hectares. The Geraldton Sandplains is part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion, as assessed by the World Wildlife Fund.
Yalgoo is an interim Australian bioregion located in Western Australia. It has an area of 5,087,577 hectares. The bioregion, together with the Avon Wheatbelt and Geraldton Sandplains bioregions, is part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion as classified by the World Wildlife Fund.
The Brigalow Belt is a wide band of acacia-wooded grassland that runs between tropical rainforest of the coast and the semi-arid interior of Queensland, Australia. The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) divides the Brigalow Belt into two IBRA regions, or bioregions, Brigalow Belt North (BBN) and Brigalow Belt South (BBS). The North and South Brigalow Belt are two of the 85 bioregions across Australia and the 15 bioregions in Queensland. Together they form most of the Brigalow tropical savanna ecoregion.
The Arnhem Land tropical savanna is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in Australia's Northern Territory.
The Carpentaria tropical savanna is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in northern Australia.
The Einasleigh Uplands is an interim Australian bioregion, with vegetation consisting of savanna and woodland located on a large plateau in inland Queensland, Australia. It corresponds to the Einasleigh Uplands savanna ecoregion, as identified by the World Wildlife Fund.
The Eyre Yorke Block, also known as the Eyre and Yorke mallee, is an interim Australian (IBRA) bioregion and a World Wildlife Fund ecoregion covering part of the Eyre Peninsula and all of Yorke Peninsula as well as land to its immediate east in South Australia.
Finke, an interim Australian bioregion, comprises 7,267,416 hectares, and is part of two state/territories of Australia: the Northern Territory and South Australia. It is part of the Central Ranges xeric scrub ecoregion.
Tiwi Cobourg is an interim Australian bioregion located in the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia. It has an area of 1,010,580 hectares, which includes the Cobourg Peninsula of Arnhem Land, Croker Island, and the Tiwi Islands. The bioregion is part of the Arnhem Land tropical savanna ecoregion.
Kanmantoo is an interim Australian bioregion located in South Australia. It has an area of 812,415 hectares, which includes the Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island. The bioregion is part of the Mount Lofty woodlands ecoregion.
Flinders Lofty Block is an interim Australian bioregion located in South Australia. It has an area of 6,615,765 hectares, which includes the Mount Lofty Ranges and Flinders Ranges.
South Eastern Queensland is an interim Australian bioregion located in south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales. It has an area of 7,804,921 hectares. It is one of the most biodiverse bioregions in Australia. The bioregion is home to eucalypt forests and woodlands, with rainforests on mountain slopes and in stream valleys and wallum heaths near the coast. South Eastern Queensland bioregion is the northernmost part of the Eastern Australian temperate forests ecoregion.
The Darling Riverine Plains is an interim Australian bioregion located in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. It has an area of 10,699,769 hectares. South Eastern Queensland bioregion is part of the Southeast Australia temperate savanna ecoregion.
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