Mitchell Grass Downs
| Mitchell Grass Downs | |
|---|---|
 Mitchell Grass Downs in Boulia, Queensland | |
 Ecoregion territory (in purple) | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Australasian |
| Biome | tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands |
| Borders | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 471,881 km2 (182,194 mi2) |
| Country | Australia |
| States | |
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Conservation | |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable |
| Protected | 11,486 km2 (2%)[1] |
The Mitchell Grass Downs is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in northeastern Australia. It is a mostly treeless grassland, characterised by Mitchell grasses (Astrebla spp.).[2][3][4][5][6]
Location and description
[edit | edit source]The ecoregion is bounded on the north and east by tropical savanna ecoregions – the Victoria Plains tropical savanna to the northeast, the Carpentaria tropical savanna to the north, the Einasleigh Uplands savanna to the northeast, and the Brigalow tropical savanna to the east. More arid ecoregions lie to west and south – the Great Sandy–Tanami desert to the southwest, the Simpson Desert to the south, and the Eastern Australia mulga shrublands to the southeast.[2]
The ecoregion includes three IBRA regions – Mitchell Grass Downs, Mount Isa Inlier, and Desert Uplands.[2]
Climate
[edit | edit source]The climate is tropical and semi-arid. Average annual rainfall varies across the ecoregion, from 350 mm to 750 mm. In much of the ecoregion rainfall is seasonal, coinciding with the summer monsoon. Rainfall becomes less seasonal towards the southeast.[2]
Flora
[edit | edit source]The vegetation consists mostly of grasses along with wildflowers and low shrubs, including Queensland bluebush (Chenopodium auricomum). There are scattered dry acacia woodlands, predominantly of gidgee (Acacia cambagei). Watercourses support woodlands of red river gum (Eucalyptus camuldulensis), coolibah (E. coolabah), and paperbark (Melaleuca spp.).
The Desert Uplands has dry woodlands of Eucalyptus populnea, E. melanophloia, and E. similis. Low open woodlands of snappy gum (Eucalyptus leucophloia), Cloncurry box (E. leucophylla), and silver box (E. pruinosa) grow in the Mount Isa Inlier.[2]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Supplemental material 2 table S1b.
- ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
