The Southeast Australia temperate savanna ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

 is a large area of grassland dotted with eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

 trees running north-south across central New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Location and description

It is a dry area of low hills and valleys of which the southern section is the wheat-growing plain known as the Riverina

Riverina

The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...

 and the northern section is low hills and plains mostly used for grazing sheep running north to the plains of the Darling River basin

Murray-Darling Basin

The Murray-Darling basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, whose name is derived from its two major rivers, the Murray River and the Darling River. It drains one-seventh of the Australian land mass, and is currently by far the most significant agricultural...

 and the New South Wales–Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 border. Rivers of the savanna include the Murray River

Murray River

The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...

 and the Murrumbidgee

Murrumbidgee River

The Murrumbidgee River is a major river in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory . A major tributary of the Murray River, the Murrumbidgee flows in a west-northwesterly direction from the foot of Peppercorn Hill in the Fiery Range of the Snowy Mountains,...

 in the south and the Darling River

Darling River

The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its longest contiguous tributaries it is long, making it the longest river system in Australia.The...

 in the north. Rainfall is low and irregular, from 300–500 mm per year becoming less the further westward and inland you go.

Flora

The dry climate sustains hardy shrubs and grasses scattered with small patches of the bimble box

Eucalyptus populnea

Eucalyptus populnea, commonly known as Poplar box or Bimble box is an endemic tree of Australia. It is found in central and coastal Queensland to northern New South Wales. It can reach up to 25 meters tall and forms extensive open-forest communities in arid and sem-arid regions...

 and coolibah

Eucalyptus coolabah

Eucalyptus coolabah is a eucalypt of riparian zones and is found throughout Australia from arid inland to coastal regions. The plant is commonly called coolibah or coolabah, the name being a loanword from the Indigenous Australian Yuwaaliyaay word, gulabaa.Propagation is dependent on periods of...

 eucalyptus trees that once covered most of this part of Australia. The Riverina area nearer the coast contains red river gum and black box

Eucalyptus largiflorens

Eucalyptus largiflorens, or Black Box, is a species of Eucalyptus which is endemic to Australia. It is a tree grows up to 20 metres in height...

.

Fauna

These grasslands are the western limit for much of the wildlife that lives here as further west is desert. Wildlife of the savanna includes mammals such as the mouse-like Kultarr

Kultarr

The Kultarr , also known as the Jerboa-marsupial, the Jerboa Pouched-mouse, the Wuhl-wuhl or the Pitchi-pitchi, is a member of the Dasyuromorphia order. It is the only species in the Antechinomys genus...

 marsupial (Antechinomys laniger), Tiger Quoll

Tiger Quoll

The tiger quoll , also known as the spotted-tail quoll, the spotted quoll, the spotted-tailed dasyure or the tiger cat, is a carnivorous marsupial of the quoll genus Dasyurus native to Australia...

 (Dasyurus maculatus), and Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby

Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby

The Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby or Small-eared Rock-wallaby is a kind of wallaby, one of several rock-wallabies in the genus Petrogale. It inhabits rock piles and cliff lines along the Great Dividing Range from about 100 km north-west of Brisbane to northern Victoria, in vegetation ranging from...

 (Petrogale penicillata). The Western Barred Bandicoot

Western Barred Bandicoot

The Western Barred Bandicoot , also known as the Marl, is a small species of bandicoot found in Australia. It was once widespread across southern Australia from Western Australia to central New South Wales, but it is now found on Bernier, Dorre and Faure islands in Shark Bay, Western Australia,...

 (Perameles bougainville fasciata) and Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby

Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby

Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby refers to Onychogalea fraenata, an endangered species of marsupial. It is a small wallaby found in three isolated areas in Queensland, Australia, and whose population is declining...

 that once lived here are now presumed extinct in New South Wales. Birds include the endangered Bush Stone-curlew

Bush Stone-curlew

The Bush Stone-curlew or Bush Thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia...

, Superb Parrot

Superb Parrot

The Superb Parrot , is a parrot native to southeastern Australia...

 (Polytelis swainsonii), Red goshawk

Red Goshawk

The Red Goshawk is probably the rarest Australian bird of prey. It is found mainly in the savanna woodlands of northern Australia, particularly near watercourses...

 (Erythrotriorchis radiatus), Malleefowl

Malleefowl

The Malleefowl is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken...

 (Leipoa ocellata) and Plains-wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus), and reptiles include an endangered skink

Skink

Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae , they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha...

 Anomalopus mackayi

Anomalopus mackayi

Anomalopus mackayi, the Long-Legged Worm Skink or Five-Clawed Worm Skink is a smooth-scaled burrowing skink found in eastern Australia. It generally burrows in areas with black soil and few trees. It generally grows to the size of about 10 cm...

. The Riverina grasslands are home to birds such as the Freckled Duck

Freckled Duck

The Freckled Duck is a moderately large, broad-bodied duck native to southern Australia. The duck is protected by law...

, and wintering populations of Swift Parrot

Swift Parrot

The Swift Parrot breeds in Tasmania and migrates north to south eastern Australia from Griffith-Warialda in New South Wales and west to Adelaide in the winter. It is related to the rosellas, with the feeding habits of a lorikeet...

 (Lathamus discolor).

Threats and preservation

Active preservation of habitats is required because much of the savanna has been converted to pasture or wheatland. This is particularly so in the Riverina where most has been cleared for wheat planting, a process that is ongoing, while the grasslands are vulnerable to overgrazing, and rivers including the Murray and Murrumbidgee are depleted by being water sources for large irrigation projects. As land is cleared it becomes habitat for invasive species such as noisy miner

Noisy Miner

The Noisy Miner is a bird common to the eastern and southern states of Australia. It ranges from northern Queensland along the eastern coast to South Australia and Tasmania. Its typical diet consists of nectar, fruit and insects, and occasionally it feeds on small reptiles or amphibians...

 bird (Manorina melanophrys) and Australian raven

Australian Raven

The Australian Raven is the largest Australian member of the genus Corvus and one of three Australian species commonly known as ravens. It is a more slender bird than the Common Raven of the Northern Hemisphere but is otherwise similar...

 (Corvus coronoides). The main protected area is the steep volcanic outcrops of Warrumbungle National Park

Warrumbungle National Park

Warrumbungle National Park is located in central northern New South Wales, Australia, 550 km northwest of Sydney. Outside of the Sydney metropolitan area parks, it is the most-visited national park in New South Wales....

. There are small areas of parkland elsewhere and plans to create more, but there are no large areas of original savanna under protection.