Desert Uplands
| Desert Uplands Queensland | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The interim Australian bioregions, with Desert Uplands in red | |||||||||||||||
| Area | 69,410.95 km2 (26,799.7 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
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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]
Geography
The bioregion contains
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
Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia
.
Subregions
Tbe Desert Uplands bioregion has four subregions:[3]
- Prairie-Torrens Creeks Alluvials (DEU01) – 1,580,384 hectares (3,905,210 acres)
- Alice Tableland (DEU02) – 2,866,760 hectares (7,083,900 acres)
- Cape-Campaspe Plains (DEU03) – 1,007,026 hectares (2,488,420 acres)
- Jericho (DEU04) – 1,486,926 hectares (3,674,270 acres)
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]
- Cudmore National Park
- Forest Den National Park
- Great Basalt Wall National Park
- Moorrinya National Park
- White Mountains National Park
- Cudmore Resources Reserve
- White Mountains Resources Reserve
- Bellview Nature Refuge
- Bimblebox Nature Refuge
- Bygana West Nature Refuge
- Doongmabulla Mound Springs Nature Refuge
- Edgbaston Nature Refuge
- Strathtay Nature Refuge
- Toomba Nature Refuge
- Ulcanbah Nature Refuge
See also
References
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ 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
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Weed Identification". Australian Weeds Committee. Archived from the original on 10 April 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ISBN 0643090894. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ 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/