Eyre Yorke Block

The Eyre Yorke Block, also known as the Eyre and Yorke mallee, is an interim Australian bioregion and a World Wildlife Fund ecoregion covering part of the Eyre Peninsula and all of Yorke Peninsula as well as land to its immediate east in South Australia.[2][3][4]

Eyre Yorke Block
Eyre and Yorke mallee
Map of the Eyre Yorke Block, a.k.a. Eyre and Yorke mallee
Ecology
RealmAustralasian
BiomeMediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
BordersGreat Victoria desert, Mount Lofty woodlands, Nullarbor Plains xeric shrublands, and Tirari-Sturt stony desert
Geography
Area60,195 km2 (23,241 sq mi)
CountryAustralia
StatesSouth Australia
Conservation
Conservation statusCritical/endangered
Protected8,816 km² (15%)[1]

Location and description

These peninsulas consist of hilly country originally covered in eucalyptus woodland. However this is good soil for farming and the woodland has mostly been cleared for agriculture now. This coast has a temperate climate with a wet winter (300mm to 600mm of rainfall per year).

Flora

The original vegetation of these low hills was woodland of short trees with a shrubby undergrowth. The original woodland consisted mainly of a tea tree Melaleuca lanceolata and mallee box (Eucalyptus porosa), a mallee eucalyptus. The flora of the two peninsulas does differ, with the Eyre Peninsula flora having similarities with areas further west as well as number of endemic species, while the Yorke Peninsula has plants typical of areas to the east.

Fauna

Mammals of the region include the western grey kangaroo and the southern hairy-nosed wombat, although many more (such as the tammar wallaby have become extinct on the two peninsulas since they have been cleared for farmland. Birds include the emu.

Threats and preservation

Most of the area has been cleared for farmland resulting in reduced populations and local extinction of much wildlife, especially on Yorke Peninsula. However clearance has mostly ceased now and the northern areas of Eyre Peninsula in particular still have large areas of mallee woodland while the coastal dunes remain mostly unspoilt also. Weeds, fertiliser and herbicide runoff are still threatening habitats. Protected areas include Innes National Park on Yorke Peninsula.

References
  1. Dinerstein, Eric; Olson, David; et al. (June 2017). "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm". BioScience. 67 (6): 534–545. doi:10.1093/biosci/bix014.CS1 maint: date and year (link) Supplemental material 2 table S1b.
  2. Environment Australia. "Revision of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) and Development of Version 5.1 - Summary Report". Department of the Environment and Water Resources, Australian Government. Archived from the original on 5 September 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2007. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. IBRA Version 6.1 Archived September 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine data
  4. "Eyre and York mallee". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.

Further reading
  • Thackway, R and I D Cresswell (1995) An interim biogeographic regionalisation for Australia : a framework for setting priorities in the National Reserves System Cooperative Program Version 4.0 Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Reserve Systems Unit, 1995. ISBN 0-642-21371-2

33°55′0″S 137°37′0″E

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