Broken Hill Complex Bioregion resources Photo Mulyangarie, DEH Broken Hill Complex The Broken Hill Complex bioregion is located in western New South Wales and eastern South Australia, spanning the NSW-SA border. It includes all of the Barrier Ranges and covers a huge area of nearly 5.7 million hectares with approximately 33% falling in South Australia! It has an arid climate with dry hot summers and mild winters. The average rainfall is 222mm per year, with slightly more rainfall occurring in summer. The bioregion is rich with Aboriginal cultural history, with numerous archaeological sites of significance. Biodiversity and habitat The bioregion consists of low ranges, and gently rounded hills and depressions. The main vegetation types are chenopod and samphire shrublands; casuarina forests and woodlands and acacia shrublands. Threatened animal species include the Yellow-footed Rock- wallaby and Australian Bustard. Grazing, mining and wood collection for over 100 years has led to a decline in understory plant species and cover, affecting ground nesting birds and ground feeding insectivores. 2 | Broken Hill Complex Photo by Francisco Facelli Broken Hill Complex Threats Threats to the Broken Hill Complex bioregion and its dependent species include: For Further information • erosion and degradation caused by overgrazing by sheep, To get involved or for more information please cattle, goats, rabbits and macropods phone your nearest Natural Resources Centre or • competition and predation by feral animals such as rabbits, visit www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au or pigs, goats, foxes and cats www.environment.sa.gov.au • invasion by salt-tolerant weed species. Natural Resources Centres Conservation Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges: 8273 9100 Over 95% of the bioregion is used for grazing purposes, while about Eyre Peninsula: ..........................8688 3111 2.5% is under conservation management, including Mutawinji Northern and Yorke: ................8841 3400 National Park, Mutawinji Nature Reserve and parts of Kinchega Kangaroo Island: .....................8553 4444 National Park in New South Wales. A small section of Bimbowrie SA Murray-Darling Basin: ........8532 9100 Conservation Park comprises the only formally conserved area in the South East: ..............................8735 1177 South Australian section of the bioregion. Education enquiries You can help conserve the Broken Hill Complex bioregion and its dependent species by: For teachers wanting more information about environmental education resources and opportunities • Raising awareness about the impacts that pest animals are please ask to speak to the relevant NRM Education having on your local environment Coordinator at each Natural Resources Centre. • Helping conserve threatened and endangered species by volunteering with a local conservation group. The Broken Hill Complex bioregion contains part of the Medindee Lakes system in New South Wales, which is managed for water storage for supply to South Australia. FIS93303 Central Ranges Bioregion resources Photo DEH Central Ranges The Central Ranges bioregion surrounds the borders of Western Australia, Northern Territory and South Australia. Only 28% of the bioregion is in South Australia. It has hot summers and temperatures can reach 50°C and above. Winters are cool to cold with the temperature sometimes as low as 6°C. The average yearly rainfall is 177mm and most of the rain in the bioregion falls in the winter. The bioregion is all Aboriginal land and there are many small Aboriginal communities in this area. Warburton is the main town and is the regional centre of the Ngaanyatjarra Lands. Biodiversity and habitat Much of the bioregion is remote, outback country. It has rugged ranges mainly running from east to west, and red sand plains. The main vegetation is low open woodlands of desert oak or mulga over spinifex grassland. There are more bushfires in the region after good rainfall years when the amount of fuel has increased. Therefore, controlled burning needs to be done after wet winters. Threatened animals include the Southern Marsupial Mole, Black-footed Rock-wallaby, Mulgara, Great Desert Skink, Malleefowl, Striated Grasswren, Australian Bustard and the Mount Illbilie Mintbush. 2 | Central Ranges Photo by Tony Robinson Central Ranges Threats Threats to the Central Ranges and its dependent species include: For Further information • pest animal species such as rabbits, foxes, donkeys, camels To get involved or for more information please and feral horses phone your nearest Natural Resources Centre or • weeds such as Athel Pine and Buffel Grass. visit www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au or www.environment.sa.gov.au Conservation In 2004, more than 15% of the area was within protected areas Natural Resources Centres and only 4% is commercially grazed on a long term basis. Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges: 8273 9100 Pastoral activities on the Aboriginal lands are monitored by Eyre Peninsula: ..........................8688 3111 Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Land Council by Northern and Yorke: ................8841 3400 issuing grazing permits. Kangaroo Island: .....................8553 4444 You can help conserve the Central Ranges bioregion and its SA Murray-Darling Basin: ........8532 9100 dependent species by: South East: ..............................8735 1177 • helping control weedy trees and Buffel Grass by Education enquiries participating in weed eradication programs in your local area For teachers wanting more information about • raising awareness about the impacts that introduced plants environmental education resources and opportunities and animals are having on your local environment please ask to speak to the relevant NRM Education • learning more about the relationship that Aboriginal people Coordinator at each Natural Resources Centre. have with the land. The Central Ranges bioregion includes South Australia’s highest mountain – Mt Woodroffe at 1435 meters above sea level. FIS93303 Channel Country Bioregion resources Photo by Tony Robinson Channel Country The Channel Country bioregion covers 51,745 square km of South Australia and includes parts of Queensland, Northern Territory and New South Wales. In South Australia, the bioregion includes Coongie Lakes and the Cooper Creek Floodplains as well as the Innamincka area and Innamincka Regional Reserve. The Bioregion has an arid climate – this means that the summers are very hot and dry and the winters are short and dry. Rainfall is very unpredictable and in some years it hardly rains at all – but on average the bioregion receives about 150 to 250mm of rain per year. Rainfall is more likely during the summer months. The land is mainly used for cattle grazing, mining and conservation purposes. It is also popular as a tourism destination. Biodiversity and habitat The region supports hummock and tussock grasslands and areas containing chenopod and samphire shrubland. There are some small areas of acacia shrublands, acacia open woodlands and eucalypt woodlands. The bioregion has very large flood plains with water channels crossing the land. This water originates in outback Queensland and flows south and southwest through the Georgina/Diamantina and Cooper Creek Basins eventually into Lake Eyre. Loose rock fragments known as ‘gibber’ are also found on the plains. The gibber, although it looks very barren, holds many biodiversity secrets, including the Kowari. 2 | Channel Country Several species are endemic to the bioregion. These include the Grey Grasswren, the Cooper Creek Tortoise, two species of skink, For Further information the Elizabeth Springs Goby Fish and an unidentified blind snake. At lease seven mammal species have become extinct from the To get involved or for more information please bioregion, including the Desert Rat-kangaroo, Western Quoll, phone your nearest Natural Resources Centre or Golden Bandicoot, Pig-footed Bandicoot, Lesser Bilby and visit www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au or Burrowing Bettong. www.environment.sa.gov.au Other threatened species include the Mulgara, Plains-wanderer, Natural Resources Centres Night Parrrot and Five-wing Bonefruit. Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges: 8273 9100 Threats Eyre Peninsula: ..........................8688 3111 Threats to the Channel Country bioregion and its dependent Northern and Yorke: ................8841 3400 species include: Kangaroo Island: .....................8553 4444 SA Murray-Darling Basin: ........8532 9100 • overgrazing by stock and wild animals South East: ..............................8735 1177 • changes in the natural flow of water because of development • competition for food and water by non-native species Education enquiries For teachers wanting more information about • predation of native animals by introduced species environmental education resources and opportunities • pollution. please ask to speak to the relevant NRM Education Coordinator at each Natural Resources Centre. The Lake Eyre Drainage Division is considered one of the world’s last unregulated wild river systems. Conservation Conservation areas in the Channel Country bioregion include Innamincka Regional Reserve, Coongie Lakes National Park and Sturt National Park (New South Wales). The Coongie Lakes are also listed as a Wetland of International Importance under an international treaty called the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. This area supports an incredible range of water dependent wildlife including native birds, fish, reptiles and frogs. You can help conserve the Channel Country bioregion and its dependent species by: