1.1.7 Ecology

Summary

The Maranoa-Balonne-Condamine subregion intersects the Condamine-Balonne, Border Rivers and Moonie river basins. The subregion spans the high country in the upper Condamine catchment and Border Rivers in the east, to the wide alluvial western plains in the lower portions of the river basins, and is typified by three distinct landforms: the tablelands, slopes and plains. The Maranoa-Balonne-Condamine subregion includes three Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) bioregions: Brigalow Belt South, Darling Riverine Plains and Mulga Lands, with most of the Maranoa-Balonne-Condamine subregion represented by the Brigalow Belt South IBRA bioregion. Extensive areas of the Brigalow Belt South IBRA bioregion within the Maranoa-Balonne-Condamine subregion have been cleared for agriculture and the native remnant vegetation is influenced by floodplains and alluvial fans. The main vegetation types across the Maranoa-Balonne-Condamine subregion are grassy woodlands (e.g. poplar box) across the uplands, while the riparian vegetation is dominated by river red gum, coolibah and river oak, with weeping bottlebrush a common understorey. The total area of wetlands listed in the Australian Wetlands Database in the Maranoa-Balonne-Condamine subregion is approximately 4000 km2 and incorporates seasonal, semi-permanent and permanent wetlands and lagoons, three of which are listed nationally. The subregion is ecologically significant because it comprises a large range of landforms and associated ecosystems containing many important species. There are 85 species listed under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The seven nationally threatened ecological communities include the critically endangered Natural grasslands on basalt and fine-textured alluvial plains and White Box-Yellow Box-Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland and Derived Native Grassland. Recent mapping of groundwater dependent ecosystems across most of the Maranoa-Balonne-Condamine subregion identified 14 distinct types of systems that potentially support ecosystems with some level of groundwater dependency. These systems cover a diverse range of landforms including; alluvia, permeable geologies, spring complexes and inland sand ridges.

Last updated:
5 January 2018
Thumbnail of the Maranoa-Baloone-Condamine subregion

Product Finalisation date

2014