Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve

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Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve
New South Wales

Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve Great Dividing Range.JPG

A sign marking the Munghorn Gap on the Great Dividing Range.
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Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve
Nearest town or city Mudgee
Coordinates 32°24′42.3″S149°49′32.82″E / 32.411750°S 149.8257833°E / -32.411750; 149.8257833 Coordinates: 32°24′42.3″S149°49′32.82″E / 32.411750°S 149.8257833°E / -32.411750; 149.8257833
Established April 1961 (1961-04)
Area 59.34 km2 (22.9 sq mi) [1]
Managing authorities NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service
Website Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve
See also Protected areas of
New South Wales

The Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve that is located in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 5,934-hectare (14,660-acre) reserve is situated on the Great Dividing Range, 35 kilometres (22 mi) north-east of Mudgee. The Castle Rocks walking trail reveals pagoda-like sandstone formations.

State park protected area managed at the federated state level

State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational potential. There are state parks under the administration of the government of each U.S. state, some of the Mexican states, and in Brazil. The term is also used in the Australian state of Victoria. The equivalent term used in Canada, Argentina, South Africa and Belgium, is provincial park. Similar systems of local government maintained parks exist in other countries, but the terminology varies.

Nature reserve protected area for flora, fauna or features of geological interest

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. Nature reserves may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions, regardless of nationality. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park.

The Central Tablelands in New South Wales is a geographic area that lies between the Sydney Metropolitan Area and the Central Western Slopes and Plains. The Great Dividing Range passes in a north–south direction through the Central Tablelands and includes the Blue Mountains. The region shares borders with the Hunter, Central West Slopes and Plains, Southern Tablelands, North Western Slopes and Plains, the Sydney Metropolitan Area and the Illawarra.

Contents

Flora and fauna

Regent honeyeater Regenthoneyeater.JPG
Regent honeyeater

Many plants and animals are at their eastern or westernmost points of natural distribution. The reserve is situated at one of the lowest points of the Great Divide. The streams forming from the east reach the Hunter River, and those from the west eventually flow to the Darling River.

Hunter River (New South Wales) river

The Hunter River is a major river in New South Wales, Australia. The Hunter River rises in the Liverpool Range and flows generally south and then east, reaching the Tasman Sea at Newcastle, the second largest city in New South Wales and a major harbour port. Its lower reaches form an open and trained mature wave dominated barrier estuary.

Darling River river in Australia

The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia, measuring 1,472 kilometres (915 mi) from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its longest contiguous tributaries it is 2,844 km (1,767 mi) long, making it the longest river system in Australia.

The flora of the area is an interesting combination of the moist mountain plants and those of the drier western plains. Vegetation is mostly dominated by Eucalyptus and Callitris pine.

<i>Eucalyptus</i> genus of plants

Eucalyptus is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae commonly known as eucalypts. Plants in the genus Eucalyptus have bark that is smooth, fibrous or stringy, leaves with oil glands, and sepals and petals that are fused to form a "cap" or operculum over the stamens. The fruit is a woody capsule commonly referred to as a "gumnut". Australia is covered by 92,000,000 hectares of eucalypt forest, comprising three quarters of the area covered by native forest.

<i>Callitris</i> genus of plants

Callitris is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae. There are 16 recognized species in the genus, of which 13 are native to Australia and the other three native to New Caledonia. Traditionally, the most widely used common name is cypress-pine, a name shared by some species of the closely related genus Actinostrobus.

The reserve is particularly noted for the high bird diversity. It lies within the Mudgee-Wollar Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International because of its importance for the endangered regent honeyeater. [2]

Mudgee-Wollar Important Bird Area Important Bird Area in New South Wales, Australia

Mudgee-Wollar Important Bird Area is a 1627 km2 tract of land in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It lies about 250 km west of Sydney, extending eastwards from the towns of Mudgee and Gulgong, and encompassing the town of Wollar. At its eastern end it adjoins the Greater Blue Mountains Important Bird Area (IBA).

BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats, and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. It is the world's largest partnership of conservation organisations, with over 120 partner organisations.

Regent honeyeater species of bird

The regent honeyeater is a critically endangered bird endemic to South Eastern Australia. It is commonly considered a flagship species within its range, with the efforts going into its conservation having positive effects on many other species that share its habitat. Recent genetic research suggests it is closely related to the wattlebirds.

Typical mountain or eastern forest birds such as the superb lyrebird and satin bowerbird are present, as are emus and cockatiels, more usually seen west of the dividing range. Some 164 species of birds have been recorded. Facilities are present for birdwatchers.

Superb lyrebird species of bird

The superb lyrebird is an Australian songbird, one of two species from the family Menuridae. It is one of the world's largest songbirds, and is noted for its elaborate tail and excellent mimicry. The species is endemic to the south east of the country, and has been introduced to Tasmania. According to David Attenborough the species displays the most sophisticated voice skills within the animal kingdom.

Satin bowerbird species of bird

The satin bowerbird is a bowerbird endemic to eastern Australia.

Emu Large flightless bird endemic to Australia

The emu is the second-largest living bird by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. The emu's range covers most of mainland Australia, but the Tasmanian, Kangaroo Island and King Island subspecies became extinct after the European settlement of Australia in 1788. The bird is sufficiently common for it to be rated as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

History

The western Wiradjuri people traveled through the area, trading with other indigenous Australians east of the divide. Europeans in the 19th century were present. They traveled across the range, on horse and bullock teams. There is also evidence of peat and coal mining, collection of wood, quarrying, prospecting and blacksmithing. [3]

The Wiradjuri people are a group of Indigenous Australian Aboriginal people that were united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and survived as skilled hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans scattered throughout central New South Wales.

Indigenous Australians are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, descended from groups that existed in Australia and surrounding islands before British colonisation. The time of arrival of the first Indigenous Australians is a matter of debate among researchers. The earliest conclusively human remains found in Australia are those of Mungo Man LM3 and Mungo Lady, which have been dated to around 50,000 years BP. Recent archaeological evidence from the analysis of charcoal and artefacts revealing human use suggests a date as early as 65,000 BP. Luminescence dating has suggested habitation in Arnhem Land as far back as 60,000 years BP. Genetic research has inferred a date of habitation as early as 80,000 years BP. Other estimates have ranged up to 100,000 years and 125,000 years BP.

Peat accumulation of partially decayed vegetation

Peat, also known as turf, is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem is the most efficient carbon sink on the planet, because peatland plants capture CO2 naturally released from the peat, maintaining an equilibrium. In natural peatlands, the "annual rate of biomass production is greater than the rate of decomposition", but it takes "thousands of years for peatlands to develop the deposits of 1.5 to 2.3 m [4.9 to 7.5 ft], which is the average depth of the boreal [northern] peatlands". Sphagnum moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most common components in peat, although many other plants can contribute. The biological features of Sphagnum mosses act to create a habitat aiding peat formation, a phenomenon termed 'habitat manipulation'. Soils consisting primarily of peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding or stagnant water obstructs the flow of oxygen from the atmosphere, slowing the rate of decomposition.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve: Park management". Office of Environment and Heritage. Government of New South Wales . Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  2. ↑ "IBA: Mudgee-Wollar". Birdata. Birds Australia. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  3. ↑ NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service - Information pamphlet December 1998


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