Kalbarri National Park, Western Australia Photograph by Mike Fields   Southwestern Australia Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub   65,200 square miles (168,900 square kilometers) -- about the size of Tennessee and West Virginia combined Critical/Endangered

· Wheat and sand
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
More Photos

Wheat and sand

This is the most arid region of southwestern Australia. Vast central wheatfields give way to sandplains in the north, where much of the original vegetation survives. Widely spaced eucalyptus trees grow to 16-32 ft (5-10 m) in height, with a varied understory of heath or grass beneath. Wattles (acacias) replace the eucalypts as you move northwards into the dry sandplains. Here, small and sparse trees provide little cover, but there are still interesting plants and animals to be seen, such as the skunk pea tree. An evergreen acacia which grows on sand, it has the distinct smell of a skunk.

Special Features

The best place to view these unique sandplains is Kalbarri National Park. These striking horizontal multi-colored bands were deposited in layers some 400 million years ago. Ranging in color from burnt orange to white to black, the layers are displayed in magnificent gorges that have been carved by the Murchison River. And like the rest of the southwest, the wildflowers in this area are spectacular. Red and green kangarooâs paws, orange banksias, grevilleas, and orchids all bloom in spring. Some flowers, such as the Kalbarri spider orchid and the Murchison hammer orchid, can be found nowhere else on earth.

	In wheat farming areas emus are regarded as pests because they feed on crops, and damage fences and watering points. In 1932, farmers even declared an "emu war" in Western Australia, calling in an army detachment to exterminate them. In more recent times, they have been farmed for their valuable meat, skins and feathers.

Wild Side

All these wildflowers attract a range of nectar feeders, including the western spinebill, the honey possum and the western pygmy possum. Waking at night, both possums set out in search of nectar and insects. The honey possum has an advantage in its special brush-like tongue, which can quickly empty flowers of their nectar. The smallest of all macropods (wallabies and kangaroos), the shy tammar wallaby spends its days asleep in dense thicket. Found on several offshore islands, the tammar wallaby has suffered extensive habitat loss in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. Larger kangaroos bound across the savannas, with euros, western grey kangaroos and red kangaroos all found here. Several species of cockatoo live here with the white-tailed black cockatoo found on sandplain woodlands and the nearly identical long-billed black cockatoo found in farmlands and eucalyptus forests. Below them, the flightless emu walks across the savannas, her chicks in tow.

Cause for Concern

Most of the area has been taken over for crop cultivation, especially in the central wheat belt where up to 93% of the original vegetation has been cleared. Much of the remaining land is privately owned. Introduced and feral animals, as well as environmentally harmful farming practices are significant threats.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.