about the biome: australia
© Emma Underwood / TNC Geography and topographyAustralia is the second largest Mediterranean biome region, with 25% of the total biome area. It has the lowest population density of any Mediterranean region, with 3.2 million people spread across 800,000 square kilometers, or four people per square kilometer (TNC Analysis, In Prep). The Australian region is actually two Mediterranean regions, separated by about 500 miles (800 km) of desert and semi-arid land. One is located in the southwestern part of the state of Western Australia, while the other covers the southern part of the state of South Australia and the western portions of the states of New South Wales and Victoria. Most of Western Australia’s 1.5 million people are concentrated in the southwestern, Mediterranean part of the state, with about two thirds living in Perth, the state’s only large city (Dallman, 1998). In contrast to the diverse topography of the other regions, Australia’s Mediterranean landscape consists of a low, flat, highly weathered plateau that rarely rises above 1,000 meters in elevation (Hopper and Gioia, 2004). Vegetation and plant lifeOnce regarded as the “species-poor cousin” of the Mediterranean biome, the Southwest Australia Floristic Region is now recognized as a center of endemic plant species. Until the 1970s, this region was as poorly inventoried as many tropical rainforests. In recent decades, however, many new flowering plant species have been discovered, collected and described. One-third of the plant species in this botanical frontier have been described since 1970 (Hooper and Gioia 2004). Australian Mediterranean vegetation is characterized by a high number of species with very localized, isolated distributions. Nearly half of the species of the southwest region are unique to the region, and some 2,500 are of high conservation concern. An estimated 72% of the region’s threatened flora is found outside the natural reserve system (Coates & Atkins 1997). The vegetation is typically characterized by Eucalyptus and Casuarina dominated forests, woodlands, mallee (multi-stemmed Eucalyptus), kwongan (shrublands and herbs) and scrub heath (scattered low trees, thickets and scrub). Three plant families dominate and give the flora here a distinctive appearance: the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae), which includes trees and shrubs with aromatic leaves, such as eucalypts, bottlebrushes and tea trees: the Pea family (Fabaceae) which includes wattles and vines; and the Protea family (Proteaceae), which includes Banksia, a large cone-like flower (Dallman, 1998).
Fast Facts
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Blue Lechenaultia – a magical carpet. Aboriginal people are said to have called Blue Lechenaultia the “floor of the sky.” If you visit the Darling Range east of Perth in springtime, you’ll see why – the ground is carpeted with them. Native to south Western Australia, this small but spectacular shrub produces large, five-petaled flowers of intense blue. Learn more about the breathtaking scenery and unique ecology of the Darling Range at the Department of Conservation and Land Management of Western Australia.
© R. L. Smith The honey possum: Counting on you.He's barely larger than your thumb, yet he holds some world records. The honey possum gives birth to the smallest newborns and, curiously, has the largest testicles per body mass of all the world’s mammals. Living just one or two years, Australia's honey possum survives entirely on pollen and nectar. Check out more of the spectacular plants and animals of the Gondwana Link, a massive project to restore landscape and communities along an 850-kilometer arc. |
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