The Central Ranges xeric scrub is a

deserts and xeric shrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (Ancient Greek 'dry') shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this habitat ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Location and description

The region consists of sandy plains with some areas of rocky highland. These plains have a dry climate but do get some rain in both summer and winter. This area contains the remote city of

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

while the grasslands are home to a number of

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

communities or are used for cattle grazing. This ecoregion contains four

Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeography, biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities ( ...

bioregions – Burt Plain, Central Ranges, Finke, and

MacDonnell Ranges The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in Arrernte language, Arrernte, is a mountain range located in southern Northern Territory. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australia ...

Flora

This ecoregion includes the Central Australian Mountain Ranges

Centres of Plant Diversity Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

. The habitats consists of thick, tough spinifex grassland with some wooded areas of western myall and desert oak (''Acacia coriacea''). The region and the MacDonnell Ranges in particular are home to a number of specialised endemic plant species including the cabbage palms of Palm Valley in

Finke Gorge National Park Finke Gorge National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia located about south of the territory capital of Darwin City, Northern Territory, Darwin. The national park covers an area of , and includes the desert oasis Pal ...

Fauna

Birds include the

red-tailed black cockatoo The red-tailed black cockatoo (''Calyptorhynchus banksii'') also known as Banksian- or Banks' black cockatoo, is a large black cockatoo native to Australia. Adult males have a characteristic pair of bright red panels on the tail that gives ...

and the spinifexbird while animals include the black-flanked rock-wallaby population of the MacDonnell Ranges and the green tree frog.

Conservation and threats

Overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

by cattle and introduced animals including horses, donkeys and rabbits are a threat to habitats.

Protected areas

Protected areas include

, Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park, and Watarrka National Park.

References

External links

*{{commons-inline, , Central Ranges xeric scrub Biogeography of the Northern Territory Biogeography of South Australia Biogeography of Western Australia Deserts and xeric shrublands Ecoregions of Australia