Benger Swamp is a
wetland located on the
Swan Coastal Plain
The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...
, in south-west
Western Australia.
The wetland is situated west of
Benger, east of the coastal town of
Binningup, south-west of
Harvey, and south of
Perth. Some 89% of the swamp is
protected within the Benger Swamp Nature Reserve, while the remaining 11%, mainly in the northern part, is privately owned. It is a seasonally important site for
waterbirds and is classified by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
,
with special regard to the conservation of
freckled ducks and
Australasian bitterns. Water levels in the swamp are controlled artificially and are managed both for
waterbird conservation and for
farming.
[
]
Description
The swamp lies in a depression on the Pinjarra Plain, part of the Swan Coastal Plain. The soils are friable, dark grey loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...
s overlying clays. To the west of the swamp are low ridges formed by wind erosion of the swamp surface when dried out in summer. Salinity measurements indicate that the swamp is a lens of fresh water overlying a saline water table.[
]
Flora
Some 20% of the swamp is covered by ''Melaleuca
''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...
'' trees and scrub, mainly on the northern and eastern edges. Of the four species there, ''Melaleuca rhaphiophylla
''Melaleuca rhaphiophylla'', commonly known as swamp paperbark is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south west of Western Australia. It has narrow, needle-like leaves and profuse spikes of white or yellowish flowers at ...
'' (swamp paperbark) occurs as a dense low forest up to in height, while '' Melaleuca viminea'', '' M. laterita'' and '' M. scabra'' are shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s. Half the swamp is covered by stands of the introduced bulrush '' Typha orientalis''. '' Baumea articulata'' (jointed rush) sedgeland covers about 1% of the swamp area. Flooded areas are dominated by couch grass ('' Cynodon dactylon'') and water couch ('' Paspalum distichum'').[
]
Fauna
As well as freckled ducks and Australasian bitterns, other wetland bird species for which the swamp is an important site include the Pacific and white-faced herons, white and straw-necked ibis
The straw-necked ibis (''Threskiornis spinicollis'') is a bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. It can be found throughout Australia, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia. Adults have distinctive straw-like feathers on their neck ...
, swamp harrier, purple swamphen, hardhead, spotless crake, wood sandpiper, Australian reed-warbler
The Australian reed warbler (''Acrocephalus australis'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus'' and is the only ''Acrocephalus'' species native to Australia. It has also been observed in Papua New Guinea and nearby islands. The ...
, little grassbird and blue-billed duck.[
Native mammals include western grey kangaroos and rakali. Tiger snakes are common, as are introduced animals such as foxes, cats and rodents.][
]
Threats
The stands of ''Typha'' dry out during the hot-dry summers of the region, providing fuel for bushfires which destroy the ''Melaleucas'' that provide moulting and breeding habitat for freckled ducks.[
]
See also
References
{{reflist, refs=
[{{cite journal , last1=Watkins , first1=D. , last2=P. , first2=Henderson , last3=J. , first3=Lane , last4=S. , first4=Moore , title=Benger Swamp Nature Reserve management plan 1987-1992 , url=http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/21768 , website=researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au , publisher=Dept. of Conservation and Land Management , accessdate=1 July 2018 , date=1987]
Wetlands of Western Australia
Nature reserves in Western Australia
Birdwatching sites in Australia
Swan Coastal Plain
Important Bird Areas of Western Australia