Little Desert (24557)
Australia, Australasia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1d
Year of last assessment: 2009
National site name: Little Desert
Central coordinates: Latitude: -36.5567, Longitude: 141.5062
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 100 to 220
Area of KBA (km2): 1351.52161
Protected area coverage (%): 96.61
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The IBA is nearly identical to Little Desert National Park, which is situated 375 km north-west of Melbourne. The IBA also includes a contiguous area of uncleared native vegetation outside of the park, east of the Wimmera River. The park is one of three IBAs in western Victoria (the others being Wyperfeld, Big Desert & Ngarkat, and Murray-Sunset, which lie farther north), which are designed to capture large areas of contiguous and comparatively undisturbed mallee habitat. The park is situated on sandy soils of low natural fertility (named Lowan Sands), which support a range of vegetation associations including heathlands, mallee woodlands and shrublands (including mallee-broombush communities), Yellow Gum communities, Black Box and Desert Stringybark woodlands, and open forest. Little Desert NP experiences a warm, dry climate; at the nearby township of Nhill, mean maximum temperatures range from 13.7 Celsius in July to 29.7 Celsius in January and mean annual rainfall is about 410 mm.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: At least 229 species of bird have been recorded in Little Desert National Park. This includes small numbers of the following IBA species: Bush Stone-curlew, Flame Robin, Purple-gaped Honeyeater, Painted Honeyeater and Black Honeyeater, which are not believed to occur in significant numbers. It also supports the following subspecies listed as threatened by Garnett and Crowley (2000): Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus victoriae), Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina ashbyi), Black-chinned Honeyeater (Melithreptus gularis gularis), Slender-billed Thornbill (Acanthiza iredalei hedleyi), Hooded Robin (Melanodryas cucullata cucullate), Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii graptogyne) and Barking Owl (Ninox connivens connivens). The park also supports regionally significant populations of Rufous Fieldwren, Shy Heathwren, Southern Scrub-robin and Gilbert's Whistler. The near threatened Australian Bustard is another regionally significant species, which has occasionally been recorded in the IBA (Little Desert NP lies at the southern limit of the bustard's documented range). Non-bird biodiversity: More than 280 native fauna species have been recorded in Little Desert National Park. Notable mammals include Silky Mouse, Western Pygmy Possum and Fat-tailed Dunnart. Little Desert NP represents the south-eastern limit of the Western Bluetongue (Tiliqua occipitalis) and Bardick (Echiopsis curda), and supports an isolated population of Delicate Skink (Lampropholis delicata).
Other site values: Victorian State Government with management by Parks Victoria. Public access is available to the park.
Habitats
Land use: nature conservation and research (100%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 48 | |
| Grassland | 5 | |
| Shrubland | 48 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Management must maintain strategic firebreaks to minimise the risk of a single wildfire raising large areas of the IBA.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural system modifications | Fire & fire suppression | Increase in fire frequency/intensity | Only in the future |
Additional information
References: Barrett, G., Silcocks, A., Barry, S., Cunningham, R. and Poulter, R. (2003) The new atlas of Australian birds. Melbourne: Birds Australia. Benshemesh, J. (1995) Monitoring malleefowl in north-west Victoria: 1994 - 95. Mildura, Victoria: Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Benshemesh, J. (2005) National recovery plan for Malleefowl 2006-2010. Adelaide: Department for Environment and Heritage. DCNR (1995) Threatened fauna in Victoria. Melbourne: Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. DNRE (1996) Little Desert National Park management plan. Melbourne: Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Garnett, S.T. and Crowley G.M. (2000) The action plan for Australian birds 2000. Canberra: Environment Australia. Jones, D., McLean, A.J. and Grant, S. (2006) The Malleefowl of Little Desert. Two decades of observations by Raymond (Whimpey) Reichelt OAM. A report for Little Desert Flora and Fauna Foundation Inc. Queensland: Suburban Wildlife Research Group, Australian School of Environmental Studies, Griffith University. Marchant, S. and Higgins, P.J., eds (1993) Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds. Volume 2: raptors to lapwings. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Contributors: The nomination was written by Tim Dolby assisted by:- Friends of Little Desert National Park: contact Parks Victoria Ranger Malcolm Pye (03) 5389 0200 and Victorian Malleefowl Recovery Group, Joe Benshemesh.