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In this section you will find detailed information, including national overviews and state and regional level assessments, from the 2000-2002 National Land and Water Resources Audit theme assessments.
Biodiversity Assessment - Gulf Fall And Uplands
Gulf Fall And Uplands
Introduction
The Gulf Falls and Uplands bioregions comprises undulating terrain with scattered low, steep hills on Proterozoic and Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks, often overlain by lateritised Tertiary material. Soils are mostly skeletal or shallow sands. The most extensive vegetation is woodland dominated by Darwin Stringybark Eucalyptus tetrodonta and Variable-barked Bloodwood C. dichromophloia with spinifex understorey, and woodland dominated by Northern Box Eucalyptus tectifica with tussock grass understorey. This bioregion includes 2 subregions.
Summary of overall condition and trend
The bioregion is generally in good condition, but this is being eroded by continuing increases in the number of feral animals (especially pigs, buffalo, donkeys and cattle) and weeds, and broad-scale changes in fire regime. Both subregions are continental landscape stress class 5 as assessed by the Landscape Health report (1 is most stressed, 6 is least stressed).
Summary of conservation priorities
This bioregion includes Lawn Hill, the recently established Limmen Gate and parts of Elsey NP. While these provide reasonable representation of the range of the bioregion's environments, they do not represent well the limited areas of more fertile lowlands.
At least as important as enhancing the reserve system is the need for increased management actions to combat the pervasive threatening processes of feral animals, weeds and altered fire regimes.
Natural values
The ranges of this bioregion have some significant refugial values, and include some endemic or near-endemic species and many geographically disjunct occurrences. Threatened species include the highly localised and endangered carpentarian rock-rat and the endangered gouldian finch.
Click here to link to a table of natural values within each subregion
Wetlands
Two nationally significant wetlands are recognised. They fall on the extreme NW and SE borders of this bioregion. Both Mataranka Thermal Pools (NT003: wetland type B17) and Lawn Hill Gorge (Q101) are within conservation reserves and in good condition, although both have high tourist visitation.
The bioregion includes some regionally significant perennial rivers and gorge systems.
Nationally important wetlands
Map: IBRA map showing DIWA locations, towns, subregions, major roads and reserves and most common threatening processes.
Click here to link to a table of Australia's Important Wetlands (Directory of Important Wetlands of Australia): their type, condition, trend and threatening processes within each subregion.
Regionally important wetlands
Click here to link to a table of provisional identification of wetlands of regional significance: their type and special values within each subregion. The reliability of the overall subregional assessment is indicated.
Click here to link to a table of provisional identification of wetlands of regional significance: their condition, trend and threatening processes within each subregion.
Riparian Zones
Important watercourses flowing through parts of this bioregion include the Roper, McArthur, Wilton, Hodgson, Cox, Calvert, Robinson, Wearyan, Nicholson, Foelsche, Phelp and Waterhouse Rivers. Riparian areas are generally in reasonably good condition, but are suffering some degradation from uncontrolled livestock and feral animals. There are also more localised or less serious extensive problems from weed infestations, pollution associated with mining, and altered fire regimes.
Map: Riparian threatening processes.
Click here to link to a table of riparian zones: their average condition, trend and threatening processes for each subregion. The reliability of this overall assessment is indicated.
Ecosystems at risk
There has no formal classification of the threatened status of ecosystems in this bioregion, except for the small portion occurring in Queensland. In this latter area, three regional ecosystems are considered threatened: 1.10.6 (swamp bloodwood woodland in sandstone springs), 1.3.8. (river red gum riparian woodlands) and 1.3.5 (mixed eucalypt woodlands on sandy alluvial terraces). Consistent with this assessment, the environments most at risk across the rest of the bioregion would include the limited areas of monsoon rainforest, riparian areas, and wetlands (particularly swamps, springs and soaks). The threatening processes are mostly the pervasive impacts of feral animals, livestock, weeds and changed fire regimes.
Map: IBRA map showing frequency of threatening processes for ecosystems.
Click here to link to a table of provisional list of threatened ecosystems in Australia: their broad vegetation type (National Vegetation Information System - Major Vegetation Subgroup), recommended status, current legislative protection as a threatened ecosystem, trend and bioregional distribution. These ecosystems are arranged in the bioregion of their principal occurrence. The reliability of the recommended status is indicated.
Click here to link to a table of provisional list of threatened ecosystems in each subregion: their threatening processes.
Click here to link to a table of provisional list of threatened ecosystems in each subregion: their recommended recovery actions
Species at risk
This bioregion supports 10 species listed as threatened by the Commonwealth or in the State/Territory. This includes most of the range of the endangered carpentarian rock-rat. Other threatened species include gouldian finch, purple-necked rock-wallaby, red goshawk and Solanum carduiforme.
There is also some substantial evidence that there is broad scale decline affecting at least some groups of mammals and birds in this bioregion, in addition to those species currently listed as threatened.
Number of taxa in the Gulf Falls and Uplands bioregion listed as threatened at national and/or NT/Queensland level (nb this table includes only species definitely recorded from the bioregion (rather than putative occurrences based on modelling) and presumed to be still extant in the bioregion).
| Taxa | Commonwealth | Northern Territory | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endangered | Vulnerable | Endangered | Vulnerable | |
| Plants | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Birds | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Mammals | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Map: IBRA map showing frequency of threatening processes for species.
Click here to link to a table of species at risk in each subregion: their status, trend and subregional distribution. The reliability of the assessment of trend is indicated and whether recovery plans have been prepared.
Click here to link to a table of species at risk in each subregion: their threatening processes.
Click here to link to a table of species at risk in each subregion: their status recommended recovery actions.
Eucalypts and Acacias
Endemism
The subregions of this bioregion contain no known endemic acacia or eucalypt species.
Richness
Subregion 1 in this bioregion has a high diversity of both Acacia (83 species) and Eucalyptus (51 species). Richness is relatively low in the other, smaller subregion (35 and 13 species, respectively).
Birds
The small number of records makes trends in the Gulf Fall and Uplands difficult to assess. The bioregion is particularly important for the Carpentarian Grasswren. Even though there was but a single record of this species in the first Atlas, there is no reason to believe it is not still present at the site. The bioregion is also important for the Endangered Gouldian Finch and Vulnerable Red Goshawk, although this assessment is also based on few records. Trends similar to those in adjacent bioregions are declines in the reporting rate of ground feeding insectivores, grassland and freshwater species, although reasons for these trends are unclear.
Status: Subtropical woodland avifauna, with broken country providing refuge from changed fire regimes and grazing.
Rare and threatened: Carpentarian Grasswren and Gouldian Finches in hills near Borroloola, Red Goshawk along major rivers.
Increasers: None indicative of landscape health.
Indicators: Emu, Australian Bustard, Flock Bronzewing, Varied Lorikeet, Hooded Parrot, Black-tailed Treecreeper, Jacky Winter.
Trend: Lower reporting rates of ground feeding insectivores, grassland and freshwater species.
Scenario: Continued declines of taxa sensitive to grazing and altered fire regimes, possible gradual erosion of species from hilly refugia.
Actions: Ensure representative areas are grazed conservatively and have a patchy fire regime.
Click hereto download a summary report including the physical characteristics of the bioregion, a species list, and summary statistics [Excel file]. The file may open on your screen. To save it to your system 'Save as' under the File menu.
Mammals
Number of species and status
There are 52 mammal species within this bioregion. (The maximum number of species recorded in a bioregion is 86 and the minimum is 25).
Click here to link to a table of number of species in each status class for this bioregion.
Click here to link to a list of mammal species and their status for this bioregion.
Critical weight range
The critical weight range (35 - 5500 g) of mammals is the size range of Australian mammals that have been most affected by environmental changes following European settlement. In this bioregion, the proportion of mammal fauna within the critical weight range is .423. (The maximum proportion of fauna within the critical weight range recorded in a bioregion is 0.632 and the minimum is 0.222).
Faunal Attrition Index
Faunal attrition is a measure of contraction or loss of species richness with a region. A high index value means many species have declined or are extinct in the bioregion. The index can be used to compare the status of mammal fauna to regional attributes such as changes since European settlement and average annual rainfall. The Faunal Attrition Index for mammals in this bioregion is .09. (The maximum faunal attrition index value recorded in a bioregion is 0.66 and the minimum is 0).
Click here to link to a table of Faunal Attrition Index for groups of mammals shows the contributions of each group to overall patterns of faunal decline.
Faunal Contraction Index
A range contraction index is a measure of the extent to which the range inhabited by a particular species has contracted. A high index value means that many of the species comprising the region's original mammal fauna have contracted from a high proportion of the regions they originally occurred in. The faunal contraction index for the mammal fauna in this bioregion is .09. (The maximum faunal contraction index value recorded in a bioregion is 0.51 and the minimum is 0.07).
Faunal Endemism Index
Endemic species are those restricted to certain regions. Regions containing endemic species are considered to have high biodiversity conservation values because opportunities to conserve those species do not exist elsewhere. A high index value means that the species comprising the original mammal fauna typically occurred in few bioregions. The faunal endemism index value for the mammal fauna in this bioregion is .65. (The maximum faunal endemism index value recorded in a bioregion is 0.79 and the minimum is 0.52).
New Endemism Index
Extant (still surviving) species that have undergone major range contractions can be considered 'new endemics'. Bioregions that contain new endemic species are often important refugia for threatened species. The new endemism index for the mammal fauna in this bioregion is unknown. (The maximum new endemism index value recorded in a bioregion is 0.93 and the minimum is 0.5).
Table: Translocated Species
There is no data available for this table within the bioregion.
Exotic Mammals
The number of introduced exotic mammal species that occur within this bioregion is 9. (The maximum number of introduced exotic mammal species in a bioregion is 16 and the minimum is 5).
Click here to link to a list of introduced exotic mammal species for this bioregion.
Extinct mammal species
The number of extinct mammal species that previously occurred within this bioregion is 2. (The maximum number of extinct mammal species in a bioregion is 29 and the minimum is 0).
Table: Extinct Species
There is no data available for this table within the bioregion.
Management responses
Reserve consolidation
There is some scope for increasing reservation, especially to include the very few localities of the most endangered species, the carpentarian rock-rat. These all fall within one pastoral holding (Wollogorang-Wentworth), which also includes some of the best developed and riches monsoon rainforest patches in the bioregion.
Click here to link to a table of comprehensiveness, adequacy and representativeness (CAR) of the National Reserve System in terms of ecosystems and area sampled and a ranking of reserve management. The bioregional priority for consolidating the National Reserve System is based on this CAR analysis and threat.
Click here to link to a table of bioregional and subregional priorities and ecosystem priorities to consolidate the National Reserve System and associated ecosystem constraints.
Off-park conservation for species and ecosystem recovery
There is some opportunity for increased protection of localised biodiversity features (e.g. small rainforest patches, springs) through exclosure fencing on pastoral properties. Caranbirini waterhole is an example of this initiative.
Integrated NRM
As with most other bioregions in northern Australia, the major NRM priorities concern broad-scale control of threatening processes, especially feral animals, weeds and altered fire regimes. To deliver this control, there needs to be increased resourcing, better coordination across landholders and tenures, and some capacity building.
Map: IBRA map showing frequency of recovery actions (species).
Map: IBRA map showing frequency of recovery actions (ecosystems).
Map: IBRA map showing existing projects part of NRM.
Click here to link to a table of contribution of integrated Natural Resource Management to the protection of biodiversity in each subregion: existing measures and effectiveness.
Click here to link to a table of contribution of integrated Natural Resource Management to the protection of biodiversity in each subregion: feasible opportunities and comments.
Further Information & Gaps
Data gaps and research priorities
Management would also benefit from more detailed environmental mapping, in particular vegetation mapping at the scale of 1:250,000 or better.
Currently in this bioregion, there is no substantial monitoring program which includes as a major goal the assessment of trends in biodiversity conservation. Such a program should be a management priority.
References
Environment Australia 2000. Revision of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia (IBRA) and the Development of Version 5.1. - Summary Report. Department of Environment and Heritage, Canberra.
A complete list of references is available by clicking here.
Further information
View the Landscape Health in Australia report.
View the Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2002 report.
Download the Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2002 Database - Biodiversity Audit Data Entry System (BADES), and specifications
Click here to link to a table of some major data gaps in each subregion in terms of protecting biodiversity.
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