Hosnies Spring formerly Hosnie's Spring or Hosnies Springs) is a
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...
on
Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...
, an
Australian external territory in the eastern
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
. It has been recognised as being of international importance by designation under the
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
History
Hosnies Spring was known earlier but the unique
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
was noted in late 1980s. It was incorporated into the
Christmas Island National Park in 1989, and listed on 11 December 1990 as Ramsar site 512, one of two such sites on the island and the smallest in the world.
[Anon (2005).] In 2010 a proposal was made to increase the area of the Ramsar site to 202 ha. Justification for its Ramsar designation is because it:
[
* is an example of a type of unusual wetland unique to Christmas Island;
* supports a unique assemblage of flora locally restricted to the one location, and additionally several endemic and vulnerable species;
* is of special value for locally restricted species as well as several endemics.
Although some restricted ]phosphate
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid .
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...
mining occurs nearby, human activity has had little impact on the site.
Description
The small, 3,300 m2 site comprises permanent freshwater streams and seepages emerging from the base of a cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...
on an uplifted
''Uplifted'' is the second studio album by Nigerian singer Flavour N'abania. It was released on July 20, 2010, by Obaino Music and 2nite Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Jay Dey, Oloye, Stormrex, Waga Gee, Asemstone, M-Jay, ...
marine terrace
A raised beach, coastal terrace,Pinter, N (2010): 'Coastal Terraces, Sealevel, and Active Tectonics' (educational exercise), from 2/04/2011or perched coastline is a relatively flat, horizontal or gently inclined surface of marine origin,Pira ...
about 24–37 m asl and 120 m inland from the seaward cliff.[Annotated Ramsar List.]
Flora and fauna
The springs form a wetland supporting a unique 120,000-year-old stand of the mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...
s '' Bruguiera gymnorhiza'' and '' Bruguiera sexangula''.[ The stand contains between 300 and 600 trees, including some of the largest ''Bruguiera'' ever recorded, several with trunks of more than 80 cm ]diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid fo ...
and with a canopy 30–40 m high. Several species of birds and crabs endemic to the island occur on the site.[Anon (1998).]
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
Ramsar sites in Australia
Geography of Christmas Island
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