Desert Uplands

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Desert Uplands
Queensland
IBRA 6.1 Desert Uplands.png
The interim Australian bioregions,
with Desert Uplands in red
Area69,410.95 km2 (26,799.7 sq mi)
Localities around Desert Uplands:
Einasleigh Uplands Einasleigh Uplands Einasleigh Uplands
Mitchell Grass Downs Desert Uplands Brigalow Belt North
Mitchell Grass Downs Mitchell Grass Downs Brigalow Belt South

The Desert Uplands is an interim Australian bioregion located in north and central western Queensland which straddles the Great Dividing Range between Blackall and Pentland. [1]

Contents

Geography

The bioregion contains Lake Galilee, Lake Dunn and Lake Buchanan. The climate is semi-arid with highly variable rainfall. Much of the area is used for cattle grazing and is part of the Great Artesian Basin, lying within both the Galilee and Eromanga Basins. The Brigalow Belt North and Brigalow Belt South are to the east of the bioregion, and the Einasleigh Uplands are located to the north. [2]

Waterways

The main rivers in the bioregion are Belyando, Cape, Campaspe, Barcoo and Alice River and Aramac and Torrens Creeks. [1] Wetlands at shallow salt lakes Lake Galilee and Lake Buchanan are listed on the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia.

Subregions

The Desert Uplands bioregion has four subregions: [3]

Flora

Spinifex grass is common. More than 80 weeds have been identified in the bioregion. [4]

In 2003, it was estimated that 13 million trees per year were being destroyed in the Desert Uplands. [5] This placed the percentage of land cleared at 6.8%, the third highest for any Queensland bioregion.

Settlements

The two main settlements in the area are at Barcaldine and Aramac.

Protected areas

Protected areas in the Desert Uplands bioregion include: [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Buchanan (Queensland)</span> Lake in Queensland, Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brigalow Belt</span> Ecoregion in Queensland, Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Einasleigh Uplands</span> Bioregion in Queensland, 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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galilee Basin</span> Sedimentary basin in Queensland, Australia

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Galilee is a former rural locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Galilee had a population of 20 people.

Upland is a former rural locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Upland had a population of 12 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gawler bioregion</span> Region in South Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Eastern Queensland</span> Region in Australia

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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Rangelands - Overview". Australian Natural Resource Atlas. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  2. Stanton, J. P. (James Peter); Morgan, M. G; University of New England. School of Natural Resources (1977), The rapid selection and appraisal of key and endangered sites : the Queensland case study, the University of New England School of Natural Resources, pp. 1–10, retrieved 11 February 2022
  3. "Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA7) regions and codes". Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Commonwealth of Australia. 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  4. "Weed Identification". Australian Weeds Committee. Archived from the original on 10 April 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  5. Lindenmayer, David B.; Mark A. Burgman (2005). Practical Conservation Biology. Csiro Publishing. p. 237. ISBN   0643090894 . Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  6. Department of Environment and Science, Queensland (2013) Desert Uplands (DEU) bioregion — facts and maps, WetlandInfo website, accessed 28 May 2022. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/facts-maps/bioregion-desert-uplands-deu/