Southwest Australia savanna

Terrestrial ecoregion in Western Australia

Southwest Australia savanna

Murchison River Gorge in Kalbarri National Park, Western Australia

Ecoregion territory (in purple)

Ecology
Realm| Australasian
Biome| Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Borders|

List

* Carnarvon xeric shrublands
* Coolgardie woodlands
* Esperance mallee
* Southwest Australia woodlands
* Western Australian mulga shrublands

Geography
Area| 177,008 km2 (68,343 sq mi)
Country| Australia
States| Western Australia
Coordinates| 29°54′S 116°30′E﻿ / ﻿29.9°S 116.5°E﻿ / -29.9; 116.5
Conservation
Conservation status| Critical/endangered
Protected| 15,778 km² (9%)[1]

The Southwest Australia savanna is an ecoregion in Western Australia.[2][3][4]

## Location and description

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The southwest Australia savanna is at the transition between the Mediterranean climate ecoregions of Australia's southwest corner and the deserts and xeric shrublands to the north and inland. Much of the area is now converted to wheat-growing.

The ecoregion is bounded by the drier Carnarvon xeric shrublands to the north, and the Western Australian Mulga shrublands to the northeast. Mediterranean-climate ecoregions lie to the east and south – the Coolgardie woodlands to the east, the Esperance mallee to the southeast, and the Southwest Australia woodlands to the southwest. It is bounded on the west by the Indian Ocean.

The ecoregion contains three Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) regions – Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, and Yalgoo.[5]

The IBRA regions, with Avon Wheatbelt in red The IBRA regions, with the Geraldton Sandplains in red The IBRA regions, with Yalgoo in red

## Flora

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The ecoregion is part of the Southwest Australia biodiversity hotspot.

The original habitat consists of savanna dotted with eucalyptus woodland, mallee woodlands and shrublands, and heath. Although the more fertile southern areas have now mostly been converted to wheat fields, more original savanna remains in the north of the region where there are more acacia trees than eucalyptus. Plants of the region include many wildflowers and trees including the scented Acacia rostellifera. The best-preserved area of original habitat is found in and around the multi-colored sandstone gorges of Kalbarri National Park on the Murchison River.

## Fauna

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Birds of the area include the emu, although this has been hunted as a pest by the wheat-growing community, and the honey-eating western spinebill. Mammals include the honey possum (Tarsipes rostratus) and the southwestern pygmy possum (Cercartetus concinnus), both of which feed on nectar from the wildflowers.

## Protected Areas

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A 2017 assessment found that 15,778 km², or 9%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas.[6] They include Kalbarri National Park, Alexander Morrison National Park, Badgingarra National Park, Beekeepers Nature Reserve, Pinjarrega Nature Reserve, Toolonga Nature Reserve, Wandana Nature Reserve, and Zuytdorp Nature Reserve.

## See also

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* Southwest Australia woodlands
* Southwest Australia

## References

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1. ^ Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b. [1]
2. ^ C.Michael Hogan & World Wildlife Fund. 2012.Southwest Australia savanna. ed. P.Saundry. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC
3. ^ "Map of Ecoregions 2017". Resolve. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
4. ^ "Southwest Australia savanna". Digital Observatory for Protected Areas. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
5. ^ "Southwest Australia savanna". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
6. ^ Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b. [2]

## External links

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* Media related to Southwest Australia savanna at Wikimedia Commons

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Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA)

* Arnhem Coast
* Arnhem Plateau
* Australian Alps
* Avon Wheatbelt
* Ben Lomond
* Brigalow Belt North
* Brigalow Belt South
* Broken Hill Complex
* Burt Plain
* Cape York Peninsula
* Carnarvon
* Central Arnhem
* Central Kimberley
* Central Mackay Coast
* Central Ranges
* Channel Country
* Cobar Peneplain
* Coolgardie
* Coral Sea
* Cumberland Plain
* Daly Basin
* Dampierland
* Darling Riverine Plains
* Darwin Coastal
* Davenport Murchison Ranges
* Desert Uplands
* Einasleigh Uplands
* Esperance Plains
* Eyre Yorke Block
* Finke
* Flinders Lofty Block
* Furneaux
* Gascoyne
* Gawler
* Geraldton Sandplains
* Gibson Desert
* Great Sandy Desert
* Great Victoria Desert
* Gulf Coastal
* Gulf Fall and Uplands
* Gulf Plains
* Hampton
* Indian Tropical Islands
* Jarrah Forest
* Kanmantoo
* King
* Little Sandy Desert
* MacDonnell Ranges
* Mallee
* Mitchell Grass Downs
* Mount Isa Inlier
* Mulga Lands
* Murchison
* Murray Darling Depression
* Nandewar
* Naracoorte Coastal Plain
* New England Tablelands
* Northern Kimberley
* New South Wales North Coast
* New South Wales South Western Slopes
* Nullarbor Plain
* Ord Victoria Plain
* Pacific Subtropical Islands
* Pine Creek
* Pilbara
* Riverina
* Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields
* South East Coastal Plain
* South East Corner
* South Eastern Highlands
* South Eastern Queensland
* Southern Volcanic Plain
* Stony Plains
* Sturt Plateau
* Subantarctic Islands
* Swan Coastal Plain
* Sydney Basin
* Tanami
* Tasmanian Central Highlands
* Tasmanian Northern Midlands
* Tasmanian Northern Slopes
* Tasmanian South East
* Tasmanian Southern Ranges
* Tasmanian West
* Tiwi Cobourg
* Victoria Bonaparte
* Victorian Midlands
* Warren
* Wet Tropics
* Yalgoo

Bioregions of the National Reserve System

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