Land zone definitions
Supplementary description
Description
Subregion
Protected areas
Extent reserved
References
| Central concept | deposits subject to periodic tidal inundation | |
| Lay terminology | tidal flats and beaches |
Quaternary estuarine and marine deposits subject to periodic inundation by saline or brackish marine waters. Includes mangroves, saltpans, off-shore tidal flats and tidal beaches.Soils are predominantly Hydrosols (saline muds, clays and sands) or beach sand.
Land Zone 2
| Central concept | Quaternary coastal sand deposits | |
| Lay terminology | coastal dunes |
Quaternary coastal dunes and beach ridges. Includes degraded dunes, sand plains and swales, lakes and swamps enclosed by dunes, as well as coral and sand cays.Soils are predominantly Rudosols and Tenosols (siliceous or calcareous sands), Podosols and Organosols.
Land Zone 3
| Central concept | Quaternary alluvial systems | |
| Lay terminology | alluvium (river and creek flats) |
Quaternary alluvial systems, including floodplains, alluvial plains, alluvial fans, terraces, levees, swamps, channels, closed depressions and fine textured palaeo-estuarine deposits. Also includes estuarine plains currently under fresh water influence, inland lakes and associated dune systems (lunettes). Excludes talus slopes, colluvial deposits and pediments.Includes a diverse range of soils, predominantly Vertosols and Sodosols, also with Hydrosols in higher rainfall areas.
Land Zone 4| Central concept | flat to gently undulating Tertiary clay plains | |
| Lay terminology | clay plains not associated with current alluvium |
Cainozoic clay deposits, usually forming level to gently undulating plains
above current alluvial systems. Excludes clay plains and downs formed in-situ
on bedrock.Mainly Vertosols with gilgai microrelief, but includes small areas
of thin sandy or loamy surfaced Sodosols and Chromosols.
| Central concept | plains and
plateaus on Tertiary land surfaces, generally with medium to coarse textured soils |
|
| Lay terminology | old loamy and sandy plains |
Extensive, uniform near level or gently undulating Cainozoic plains with sandy or loamy soils. Includes dissected remnants of these surfaces. Also includes plains with sandy or loamy soils of uncertain origin, and plateau remnants with deep soils usually overlying duricrust. Excludes Quaternary alluvial deposits (land zone 3), exposed duricrust (land zone 7), and soils derived from underlying bedrock (land zones 8 to 12).Soils are usually Tenosols and Kandosols, also minor deep sandy surfaced Sodosols and Chromosols. There may be a duricrust at depth.
Land Zone 6| Central concept | Quaternary inland dunefields | |
| Lay terminology | inland dunefields |
Quaternary inland dunefields, interdune areas, degraded dunefields, and associated aeolian sandplains. Excludes alluvial systems, which may traverse this zone, and intermittent lakes and claypans (land zone 3).Soils are predominantly Rudosols and Tenosols, some Kandosols and minor Calcarosols.
Land Zone 7| Central concept | exposed or shallowly covered duricrusts | |
| Lay terminology | ironstone jump-ups |
Cainozoic duricrusts formed on a variety of rock types, usually forming mesas or scarps. Includes exposed ferruginous, siliceous or mottled horizons and associated talus and colluvium, and remnants of these features, for example low stony rises on downs.Soils are usually shallow Rudosols and Tenosols, with minor Sodosols and Chromosols on associated pediments, and shallow Kandosols on plateau margins and larger mesas.
Land Zone 8
| Central concept | plains and hills on Cainozoic flood basalts | |
| Lay terminology | basalt plains and hills |
Cainozoic igneous rocks, predominantly flood basalts forming extensive plains and occasional low scarps. Also includes hills, cones and plugs on trachytes and rhyolites, and associated interbedded sediments, and talus. Excludes springs (land zone 3), and deep soils overlying duricrust (land zone 5).Soils include Vertosols, Ferrosols, and shallow Dermosols.
Land Zone 9
| Central concept | gently undulating
landscapes on more or less horizontally bedded fine grained sedimentary rocks |
|
| Lay terminology | undulating country on fine grained sedimentary rocks |
Fine-grained sedimentary rocks, generally with little or no deformation, forming undulating landscapes with a broad range of fine textured soils of moderate to high fertility. Siltstones, mudstones, shales, calcareous sediments, and lithic and labile sandstones are typical rock types although minor interbedded volcanics may occur. Excludes areas of duricrust (land zone 7).Includes a diverse range of soils of moderate to high fertility, predominantly Vertosols, Sodosols, and Chromosols.
Land Zone 10| Central concept | plateaus, scarps and ledges with shallow soils on more or less horizontally bedded medium- to coarse-grained sedimentary rocks | |
| Lay terminology | sandstone ranges |
Medium to coarse-grained sedimentary rocks, with little or no deformation, forming plateaus, ledges and scarps. Includes siliceous sandstones, conglomerates and minor interbedded volcanics, and springs associated with these rocks. Excludes overlying Cainozoic sand deposits (land zone 5).Soils are predominantly shallow Rudosols and Tenosols of low fertility, but include sandy surfaced Kandosols, Kurosols, Sodosols and Chromosols.
Land Zone 11| Central concept | hills and lowlands on metamorphosed sedimentary rocks | |
| Lay terminology | hills and lowlands on metamorphic rocks |
Metamorphosed rocks, forming ranges, hills and lowlands. Primarily lower Permian and older sedimentary formations which are generally moderately to strongly deformed. Includes low- to high-grade and contact metamorphics such as phyllites, slates, gneisses of indeterminate origin and serpentinite, and interbedded volcanics.Soils are mainly shallow, gravelly Rudosols and Tenosols, with Sodosols and Chromosols on lower slopes and gently undulating areas. Soils are typically of low to moderate fertility.
Land Zone 12| Central concept | hills and lowlands on granitic and other pre Cainozoic igneous rocks | |
| Lay terminology | hills and lowlands on granitic rocks |
Mesozoic to Proterozoic igneous rocks, forming ranges, hills and lowlands. Predominantly granitic rocks and intermediate to acid volcanics such as granites, granodiorites, andesites and rhyolites, as well as minor areas of associated interbedded sediments and basic intrusive rock types such as gabbros and dolerites. Excludes serpentinites (land zone 11) and younger igneous rocks (land zone 8).Soils are mainly Tenosols and Rudosols on steeper slopes with Chromosols and Sodosols on lower slopes and gently undulating areas. Soils are typically of low to moderate fertility.
Supplementary description
Published sources, listed under the references section below, used to derive
or which are equivalent to each regional ecosystem are listed so that more detailed
information can be readily obtained.
Description
The geology, landform, soil and vegetation that characterises each regional
ecosystem are briefly described. This description is not intended to be exclusive,
but is the typical expression of the ecosystem based on the best available knowledge.
Variation on a theme is to be expected, particularly in the relative dominance
of characteristic plant species. Further details should be sought if necessary
from the supplementary sources listed.
Subregion
The distribution of each regional ecosystem across subregions is also listed,
although in several bioregions this has not being updated from that listed in
Sattler and Williams (1999).
Protected areas
To broadly assess comprehensiveness, adequacy, and representativeness of the
protected area system, regional ecosystems are listed for each protected area
defined under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 including National Parks, Conservation
Parks and Resource Reserves, but excluding Nature Refuges or voluntary conservation
agreement areas on private lands.Generally speaking only protected areas of
>1000ha are included, in recognition of the difficulty of ensuring the viability
of ecosystems and species in very small reserves. Some protected areas of <1000ha
are important in conserving specific elements of biodiversity (e.g. the mound
springs on Elizabeth Springs CP) and are therefore identified.
Extent reserved
The extent of regional ecosystems within protected areas is classified as:
- High >10% of pre-clearing extent
- Medium 4-10%
- Low <4%
The high category, >10%, is based on the IUCN (1994) guideline within the CARACAS Declaration that identified that 10% of each biome should be preserved. The medium category, 4-10%, merely reflects that this level would exceed proportionally the total area that is currently reserved in the protected area estate in Queensland (3.8%). The low category, <4%, reflects that representation proportionally less than the total park area in the State is low indeed. Where data are available, the area of each regional ecosystem in protected areas is given.Data associated with protected areas, including the representation of regional ecosystems within reserves is updated as new mapping is completed, although in several bioregions this has not being updated from that listed in Sattler and Williams (1999).
References
The Regional Ecosystem Description Database includes a list of supplementary
descriptions, which are published sources used to derive or which are equivalent
to, each regional ecosystem. These references
should be consulted to derive more detailed descriptions and full variation
of regional ecosystems.
Last updated: 13 July 2004
