Simpson Desert - Ecology

Ecology

The Simpson Desert is also a large part of the World Wildlife Fund ecoregion of the same name which consists of the Channel Country and the Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields bioregions of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA).

The flora of the Simpson Desert ecoregion is limited to drought-resistant shrubs and grasses especially Zygochloa paradoxa grass that holds the dunes together and the spinifex and other tough grasses of sides slopes and sandy desert floor between the dunes. The Channel Country section of the ecoregion lies to the northeast of the desert proper around the towns of Bedourie and Windorah in Queensland, and consists of low hills covered with Mitchell grass cut through with rivers lined with Coolabah trees. The ecoregion also includes areas of rocky upland and seasonally wet clay and salt pans, particularly Lake Eyre, the centre of one of the largest inland drainage systems in the world, including the Georgina and Diamantina Rivers.

Wildlife adapted to this hot, dry environment and seasonal flooding includes the Water-holding Frog (Litoria platycephala) and a number of reptiles that inhabit the desert grasses. Endemic mammals of the desert include the kowari (Dasycercus byrnei) while birds include the Grey Grasswren (Amytornis barbatus) and Eyrean Grasswren (Amytornis goyderi). Lake Eyre and the other seasonal wetlands are important habitats for fish and birds, especially as a breeding ground for waterbirds while the rivers are home to birds, bats and frogs. The seasonal wetlands of the ecoregion include Lake Eyre and the Coongie Lakes as well as the swamps that emerge when Cooper Creek, Strzelecki Creek and the Diamantina River are in flood. The birds that use these wetlands include the Freckled Duck (Stictonetta naevosa), Musk Duck (Biziura lobata), Silver Gull (Larus novaehollandiae), Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), and Banded Stilt (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus). Finally the mound springs of the Great Artesian Basin are important habitat for a number of plants, fish, snails and other invertebrates.

Native vegetation is largely intact as the desert is uninhabitable so habitats are not threatened by agriculture but are damaged by introduced species, particularly rabbits and feral camels. The only human activitiy in the desert proper has been the construction of the gas pipelines, while the country on its fringes has been used for cattle grazing and contains towns such as Innamincka. Mound springs and other waterholes are vulnerable to overuse and damage. Protected areas of the ecoregion include the Simpson Desert, Goneaway, Lochern, Bladensburg, Witjira and Lake Eyre National Parks as well as the Simpson Desert Conservation Park, Innamincka Regional Reserve and Simpson Desert Regional Reserve.