The Central Ranges xeric scrub is a

deserts and xeric shrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Location and description

The region consists of sandy plains with some areas of rocky highland. These plains have a dry climate but do get some rain in both summer and winter. This area contains the remote city of

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' A ...

while the grasslands are home to a number of

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

communities or are used for cattle grazing. This ecoregion contains four

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

(IBRA) bioregions –

Burt Plain Burt Plain, an interim Australian bioregion, is located in the Northern Territory,IBRA Ver ...

Central Ranges Central Ranges (code CER) is an Australian bioregion, with an area of 101,640.44 square kilometres (39,244 sq mi) spreading across two states and one territory: South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.Finke, and

MacDonnell Ranges The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in Arrernte, is a mountain range located in southern Northern Territory. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an interim Australian bioregion broadly encompassing the mountain range, with an area of .< ...

Flora

This ecoregion includes the Central Australian Mountain Ranges Centres of Plant Diversity. The habitats consists of thick, tough spinifex grassland with some wooded areas of

myall Myalls are any of a group of closely related and very similar species of ''Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it ...

and

desert oak Desert oak may refer to several Australian tree species with narrow, needle-like leaves or stems, including: * ''Acacia coriacea ''Acacia coriacea'', commonly known as river jam, wirewood, desert oak, wiry wattle or dogwood, is a tree in the fam ...

''(Acacia coriacea)''. The region and the MacDonnell Ranges in particular are home to a number of specialised endemic plant species including the

cabbage palm Cabbage palm is a common name for several species of palms or palm-like plants: *''Cordyline fruticosa'', a tropical tree native to Asia and Polynesia *''Corypha utan'', an East Asian fan palm (including Northern Australia) *'' Euterpe oleracea'', ...

s of Palm Valley in Finke Gorge National Park.

Fauna

Birds include the

red-tailed black cockatoo The red-tailed black cockatoo (''Calyptorhynchus banksii'') also known as Banksian- or Banks' black cockatoo, is a large black cockatoo native to Australia. Adult males have a characteristic pair of bright red panels on the tail that gives t ...

and the

spinifexbird The spinifexbird (''Poodytes carteri'') is endemic to inland Australia. Also known as Carter's desertbird, it is named after Thomas Carter, an English ornithologist and pastoralist active in Western Australia from 1887 to 1928. Description It h ...

while animals include the black-flanked rock-wallaby population of the MacDonnell Ranges and the green tree frog.

Conservation and threats

Overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

by cattle and introduced animals including horses, donkeys and rabbits are a threat to habitats.

Protected areas

Protected areas include Finke Gorge National Park, Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park, and

Watarrka National Park Watarrka National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia located about 1,316 kilometres (817 miles) south of the territory capital of Darwin and southwest of Alice Springs. It contains the much visited Kings Canyon a ...

Location and description

Flora

Fauna

Conservation and threats

Protected areas

References

Further reading