Mulga Lands

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Mulga Lands
Eastern Australia mulga shrublands
Mulga.jpg
Mulga lands in South west Queensland
IBRA 6.1 Mulga Lands.png
Map of IBRA bioregions, with Mulga Lands in red
Ecology
Realm Australasian
Biome Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Deserts and xeric shrublands
Borders
Geography
Area251,883 km2 (97,253 sq mi)
CountryAustralia
States
Coordinates 28°06′S145°41′E / 28.100°S 145.683°E / -28.100; 145.683
Conservation
Conservation status vulnerable
Protected9,662 km² (4%) [1]

The Mulga Lands are an interim Australian bioregion of eastern Australia consisting of dry sandy plains with low mulga woodlands and shrublands that are dominated by Acacia aneura (mulga). [2] The Eastern Australia mulga shrublands ecoregion is coterminous with the Mulga Lands bioregion. [3]

Contents

Location and description

Located in inland New South Wales and Queensland, these are flat plains with some low hills. and infertile sandy soil with a cover of grasses and shrubs with mulga and eucalyptus trees. The region contains areas of wetland, most of them only seasonally flooded, these include Lake Wyara and Lake Numalla, the Currawinya Lakes, Lake Bindegolly and others on the Warrego and the Paroo Rivers, the latter of which in particular remains relatively unmanaged and in its natural state.

The area has a very dry climate, with unpredictable low rainfall (450mm-650mm per year). The plains are drained in three directions: the eastern side by the Wallam, Nebine and Mungallala Creeks (tributaries of the Culgoa River), and the Warrego and Paroo rivers into the Murray-Darling basin; the southwest by the Bulloo River into wetlands near the Simpson Desert; and finally the northern side by the Barcoo River towards Lake Eyre. The Great Artesian Basin lies below these plains and more rich patches of wildlife are found around mound springs stemming from the basin.

The Mulga Lands are defined by their plant life and poor soil and as such are distinct from neighbouring ecoregions, the Brigalow Belt to the east and the Mitchell Grass Downs to the north, both of which have better soil and richer plant life. The Southeast Australia temperate savanna ecoregion lies to the south and southeast. The drier Simpson Desert and Tirari-Sturt stony desert ecoregions lie to the west.

The mulga lands are sparsely populated and mostly used for grazing sheep and cattle.

Flora

Mulga trees are a type of acacia which have adapted to efficiently collect the sparse rainfall, are the distinctive habitat of this ecoregion while the ground cover consists of shrubs and grasses. However the mulga lands are not uniform and there are micro-climates and patches of other kinds of habitat, especially areas of eucalyptus woodland in the better-watered parts that have more wildlife than the mulga acacia plains themselves. Eucalyptus trees found here include bimble box, coolibah, and silver-leaved ironbark. To the east of the Warrego River in Queensland the mulga lands merge into a heath of sand dunes. Throughout the mulga lands plant life quickly flourishes after rainfall and habitats revive and change.

Fauna

Currawinya National Park is part of the project to revive Australia's population of the bilby, which in the park is protected from dingos and cats. This part of Australia is generally dry and when flooded Lakes Wyara and Numalla are important habitats for birds, being home to 250,000 birds of 40 species including the rainbow bee-eater, Australasian shoveller, freckled duck, musk duck, black swan, silver gull, Australian pelican, great egret, and glossy ibis.

Conservation and threats

Together with the Brigalow Belt, the Mulga Lands are where most of Queensland's land clearing is occurring. [4] 80% of the original plant cover is intact, especially in the drier inland west, as some areas of eucalyptus woodland have been cleared in the eastern side of the area. There are no endangered habitats in the mulga lands. However, most of the area is used for grazing sheep and cattle, so there is always a danger of overgrazing while mulga leaves are used as livestock fodder and other trees are removed to create more grassland and to allow access to water sources. The mound springs are particularly affected by this. There are some areas of National Park, the largest of which is Currawinya, whose wetlands are especially important as bird habitats. Others include Hell Hole Gorge, Lake Bindegolly, Mariala, Thrushton, part of Welford, Idalia and the Culgoa Floodplain National Parks. [5]

Related Research Articles

Currawinya is a national park near Hungerford in South West Queensland, Australia, 828 km west of Brisbane. Part of the mulga lands bioregion this is an area of dry sandy plain with small trees and shrubs. The Paroo River passes through the park.

<i>Acacia aneura</i> Species of shrub or small tree

Acacia aneura, commonly known as mulga or true mulga, is a shrub or small tree native to arid outback areas of Australia. It is the dominant tree in the habitat to which it gives its name (mulga) that occurs across much of inland Australia. Specific regions have been designated the Western Australian mulga shrublands in Western Australia and Mulga Lands in Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coolgardie bioregion</span> Bioregion in Western Australia

Coolgardie is an Australian bioregion consisting of an area of low hills and plains of infertile sandy soil in Western Australia. It has an area of 129,122.09 square kilometres (49,854.32 sq mi). It includes much of the Great Western Woodlands.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paroo-Darling National Park</span> Protected area in New South Wales, Australia

The Paroo-Darling National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Far West region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 178,053-hectare (439,980-acre) national park spans two distinct regions in the outback area. This region covers the arid catchments of the Paroo River and the Paroo-Darling confluence to the south.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southeast Australia temperate savanna</span>

The Southeast Australia temperate savanna ecoregion is a large area of grassland dotted with eucalyptus trees running north–south across central New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coolgardie woodlands</span> Terrestrial ecoregion in Western Australia

The Coolgardie woodlands is an ecoregion in southern Western Australia. The predominant vegetation is woodlands and mallee scrub. The ecoregion is a transitional zone between the Mediterranean-climate forests, woodlands, and shrublands of Southwest Australia and the deserts and dry scrublands of the Australian interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naracoorte woodlands</span> Ecoregion in southern Australia

The Naracoorte woodlands is an ecoregion in southern Australia. It covers the Naracoorte coastal plain in southeastern South Australia and southwestern Victoria. It is coterminous with the Naracoorte Coastal Plain IBRA region. Only 10% of the ecoregion's area still has its original vegetation; most has been converted to agriculture and pasture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest Australia savanna</span> Terrestrial ecoregion in Western Australia

The Southwest Australia savanna is an ecoregion in Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Australian mulga shrublands</span> Terrestrial ecoregion in Western Australia

The Western Australian Mulga shrublands is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion of inland Western Australia. It is one of Australia's two mulga ecoregions, characterized by dry woodlands of mulga trees interspersed with areas of grassland and scrub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowra Sanctuary</span> Protected area in Queensland, Australia

Bowra Sanctuary is a 140 km2 nature reserve near Cunnamulla in South West Queensland, Australia. It lies in the Mulga Lands bioregion on the Warrego River plains, in the catchment of the Warrego and Paroo Rivers. It is owned and managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paroo Floodplain and Currawinya Important Bird Area</span>

The Paroo Floodplain and Currawinya Important Bird Area is a 7,874 km2 (3,040 sq mi) site comprising the floodplain and the associated wetlands of the Paroo River in north-western New South Wales and south-western Queensland, Australia. It includes extensive areas of the Paroo-Darling and Currawinya National Parks, both of which are listed under the Ramsar Convention as wetland sites of international importance, as well as of the Nocoleche Nature Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilbara shrublands</span> Terrestrial ecoregion in Western Australia

The Pilbara shrublands is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion in Western Australia. It is coterminous with the Pilbara IBRA region. For other definitions and uses of "Pilbara region" see Pilbara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mulga (habitat)</span> Habitat dominated by the mulga tree

Mulga is a type of habitat composed of woodland or open forest dominated by the mulga tree, Acacia aneura, or similar species of Acacia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitchell Grass Downs</span> Ecoregion in Australia

The Mitchell Grass Downs is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in northeastern Australia. It is a mostly treeless grassland, characterised by Mitchell grasses .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Numalla County, Queensland</span>

Numalla County is a cadastral division of Queensland and a County of the Warrego Land District of southwestern Queensland.

References

  1. Dinerstein, Eric, Olson, David, et al. (June 2017). "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm". BioScience. 67 (6): 534–545. doi:10.1093/biosci/bix014. PMC   5451287 .
  2. "Description". Queensland Government. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
    - Boyland, D. E (2006). Sustainable harvesting of mulga for fodder in the Mulga Lands. s.n.
  3. "Eastern Australia mulga shrublands". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
    - "Map of Ecoregions 2017". Resolve. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
    - "Eastern Australia mulga shrublands". Digital Observatory for Protected Areas. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
    - "Eastern Australia mulga shrublands". The Encyclopedia of Earth. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
    - Stanton, J. P. (James Peter); Morgan, M. G. (1977), The rapid selection and appraisal of key and endangered sites : the Queensland case study, the University of New England School of Natural Resources, p. 1-10
  4. Morris, Nathan (10 April 2022). "Beef industry could struggle to achieve net zero by 2030 if Queensland keeps clearing land". ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  5. "Eastern Australia mulga shrublands". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.