The Naracoorte woodlands is an ecoregion in southern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It covers the Naracoorte coastal plain in southeastern

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and southwestern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. It is coterminous with the Naracoorte Coastal Plain

IBRA region The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeography, biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities ( ...

. Only 10% of the ecoregion's area still has its original vegetation; most has been converted to agriculture and pasture.

Location and description

The topography is generally low, either flat or gently undulating. There are extensive coastal dunes with saltwater, brackish, and freshwater lakes and wetlands. Many of the soils are sandy. Others areas are made up of

calcrete Caliche () is a sedimentary rock, a hardened natural cement of calcium carbonate that binds other materials—such as gravel, sand, clay, and silt. It occurs worldwide, in aridisol and mollisol soil orders—generally in arid or semiarid regions, ...

; the area is known as the

Limestone Coast The Limestone Coast is a name used since the early twenty-first century for a South Australian government region located in the south east of South Australia which immediately adjoins the continental coastline and the Victorian border. The ...

. The ecoregion is bounded on the southeast by the

Southeast Australia temperate forests The Southeast Australia temperate forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of south-eastern Australia. It includes the temperate lowland forests of southeastern Australia, at the southern end of the Great Dividing Range. Veget ...

ecoregion, and the

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

area is a western outlier of that ecoregion. The Murray-Darling woodlands and mallee lies to the north and east, and includes the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

estuary which bounds the Naracoorte woodlands on the north. The

Great Australian Bight The Great Australian Bight is a large oceanic bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia. Extent Two definitions of the extent are in use – one used by the International Hydrog ...

lies to the south and west.

Climate

The ecoregion has a mild

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

with a strong maritime influence that moderates temperature extremes. Rainfall ranges from 850 mm in the wetter southern areas to 400 mm in the driest inland and northern areas.

Flora

The original vegetation includes open sclerophyll forests in areas with higher rainfall and well-drained soils, and open woodlands and shrublands in drier areas. low shrubland (heath) grew in sandy soils and stabilized dunes. Open woodlands of

river red gum ''Eucalyptus camaldulensis'', commonly known as the river red gum, is a tree that is endemic to Australia. It has smooth white or cream-coloured bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers an ...

(''Eucalyptus camaldulensis'') are found in seasonally-waterlogged areas. Swamps and wet meadows of the tussock sedge ''

Gahnia ''Gahnia'' (sawsedge, saw-sedge) is a genus of sedges native to China, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and a number of Pacific Islands. The common name is due to the toothed margins. It often forms tussocks. Species Accept ...

'' grow in the wettest areas.

Fauna

The ecoregion's extensive wetlands and coastal lakes are important habitat for migratory and resident water birds. The ecoregion has few endemic or near-endemic species. The endangered

orange-bellied parrot The orange-bellied parrot (''Neophema chrysogaster'') is a small parrot endemic to southern Australia, and one of only three species of parrot that migrate. It was described by John Latham in 1790. A small parrot around long, it exhibits sex ...

(''Neophema chrysogaster'') overwinters in the vegetated coastal dunes and saltmarshes. The endangered

swift parrot The swift parrot (''Lathamus discolor'') is a species of broad-tailed parrot, found only in southeastern Australia. The species breeds in Tasmania during the summer and migrates north to south eastern mainland Australia from Griffith-Warialda ...

(''Lathamus discolor'') and

regent honeyeater The regent honeyeater (''Anthochaera phrygia'') is a critically endangered bird endemic to southeastern Australia. It is commonly considered a flagship species within its range, with the efforts going into its conservation having positive effe ...

(''Anthochaera phyrigia'') have been mostly extirpated from habitat loss.

Protected areas

A 2017 assessment found that 2,326 km², or 10%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Most of the protected areas are small, and preserve coastal dunes and wetlands. The more extensive ones include

Coorong National Park Coorong National Park is a protected area located in South Australia about south-east of Adelaide, that predominantly covers a coastal lagoon ecosystem officially known as The Coorong and the Younghusband Peninsula on the Coorong's southern si ...

Messent Conservation Park __NOTOC__ Messent Conservation Park, formerly the Messent National Park and the Messent Wildlife Reserve, is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state’s south-east in the gazetted localities of Colebatch ...

Canunda National Park Canunda National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about southeast of Adelaide, on the coast about southwest of Millicent. It consists of coastal dunes, limestone cliffs, and natural bushland. The ...

, and

Mount Richmond National Park The Mount Richmond National Park is a national park located in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Melbourne and west of . Part of the route of the Great South West Walk is l ...

External links

References

{{Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA), state=collapsed Biogeography of South Australia Biogeography of Victoria (Australia) IBRA regions Limestone Coast Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub in Australia