Lake Barlee (24821)
Australia, Australasia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: B1
Year of last assessment: 2009
National site name: Lake Barlee
Central coordinates: Latitude: -29.1990, Longitude: 119.5228
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 400 to 420
Area of KBA (km2): 1983.19206
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The IBA consists of Lake Barlee and surrounding small satellite lakes in south-western Western Australia. Lake Barlee is a large ephemeral saline lake that is probably inundated about once every ten years following major rainfall events. The lake, which receives water from direct precipitation and periodic inflow from many short creeks, may retain water for six to nine months after major rainfall events. The bed of Lake Barlee is bare but features some exposed greenstone rocks and many hundreds of islands of variable size (microscale to macroscale) and height (less than one to more than 10 m) that support low samphire vegetation. The margin of Lake Barlee also supports low samphire vegetation. When Lake Barlee is inundated, at least five of the islands may support large numbers of breeding Banded Stilt.
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 15 species of waterbird have been recorded at Lake Barlee. Six of the 15 species (Black Swan, Australian Shelduck, Pink-eared Duck, Black-winged Stilt, Banded Stilt and Red-capped Plover) are known to breed at Lake Barlee (Chapman & Lane 1997; DEWHA 2007). Non-bird biodiversity: Eleven taxa of invertebrate were recorded at Lake Barlee during an inundation event in July 1992 with ostracods (Diacypis spp., Cypridae spp.), copepods (Calamoecia spp.) and brine shrimp (Parartemia spp.) found to be abundant at this time (Australian Wetlands Database 2001).
Other site values: Unallocated Crown land managed by the Western Australian Department for Planning and Infrastructure. Northern Uranium Limited are currently awaiting approval of an application to mine a 227 km² block of land that includes the part of the bed at the south-western end of Lake Barlee (Northern Uranium Limited 2006) and other mining companies are prospecting in the area.
Habitats
Land use: not utilised (100%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 100 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Exclude mineral exploration from areas critical to Banded Stilt.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Named species | Ongoing |
| Energy production & mining | Mining & quarrying | Only in the future |
Additional information
References: Burbidge, A.A. and Fuller, P.J. (1982) Banded Stilt breeding at Lake Barlee, Western Australia. Emu 82: 212-216. Chapman, A. and Lane, J.A.K. (1997) Waterfowl usage of wetlands in the south-east arid interior of Western Australia 1992-93. Emu 97: 51-59. DEWHA (2007) A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia. Lake Barlee - WA059. http://www.environment.gov.au/water/publications/environmental/wetlands/database/ accessed on 1 November 2007. Northern Uranium Limited (2006) Projects - Lake Barlee. http://www.northernuranium.com.au/default.aspx?id=251 accessed on 1 November 2007.
Contributors: A. Chapman, J.A.K. Lane, G. Pearson and Roger Jaensch (of Wetlands International) kindly provided data and comments.