__NOTOC__ Desert Camp Conservation Reserve is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

located in the state's

Limestone Coast The Limestone Coast is a name used since the early 21st century for a Regions of South Australia#South Australian Government regions, South Australian government region located in the south east of South Australia which immediately adjoins ...

in the gazetted locality of Marcollat about south of the town centre in Keith. It is classified as an

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

Category VI protected area. The reserve occupies

crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

in section 55 of the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Marcollat on the eastern side of the

Riddoch Highway Riddoch Highway is a rural highway in south-eastern South Australia, designated as route A66 between Keith and Mount Gambier, with the remainder between Mount Gambier and Port MacDonnell designated as route B66. It is named after John Riddoch, ...

which runs from Keith in the north to Naracoorte in the south. It is also bounded to the north by Rowney Road which runs from Bordertown in the north-east to

Kingston SE Kingston SE (Kingston South East to distinguish it from Kingston on Murray), formerly Kingston, is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's south-east coastline on the shores of Lacepede Bay. It is located about ...

in the south-west and which stops at the Riddoch Highway and resumes about a to the south.

Background

The crown land was dedicated as a conservation reserve on 11 November 1993 and placed ‘’under the care, control and management of the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.” Its name is derived from the

Desert Camp Conservation Park __NOTOC__ Desert Camp Conservation Park (formerly Desert Camp National Parks Reserve and Desert Camp National Park) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's Limestone Coast region in the gazetted loc ...

which is located to the immediate west on the western side of Rowney Road. The area was reported in 1997 as being “the largest block of remnant vegetation in the Hundred of Marcollat” and which “accounts for over half of the remaining native vegetation in blocks greater than 25 hectares in that Hundred.” It was also reported that the following eight distinct vegetation associations have been identified within the conservation reserve with at least 248 recorded species of native plants including 17 listed as “rare or threatened in the south east”, 10 listed as “either threatened or rare in South Australia” and the Metallic sun-orchid ('' Thelymitra epipactoides'') which was “considered endangered nationally:”

# Brown stringybark (''
Eucalyptus baxteri ''Eucalyptus baxteri'', commonly known as brown stringybark, is a medium-sized tree that is endemic to the south-east of mainland Australia. It has rough, stringy bark to the thinnest branches, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, green to yellow ...
'') Low Woodland. # Pink gum ('' Eucalyptus fasciculosa'') Woodland over a Mixed Heath. # Pink gum ('' Eucalyptus fasciculosa'') Low Woodland over a Desert banksia ('' Banksia ornata'')/Heath yacca ('' Xanthorrhoea caespitose'')/Heath tea-tree ('' Leptospermum myrsinoides'') Open Heath. # South Australian blue gum (''
Eucalyptus leucoxylon ''Eucalyptus leucoxylon'', commonly known as yellow gum, blue gum or white ironbark, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It has smooth yellowish bark with some rough bark near the bas ...
'') Woodland. # Dwarf hakea ('' Hakea rugosa'')/Dwarf sheok (''
Allocasuarina pusilla ''Allocasuarina pusilla'', commonly known as heath oak-bush or dwarf sheoak, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is a spreading, dioecious shrub with branchlets up ...
'')/Honey myrtle ('' Melaleuca brevifolia'') Heath. # Coastal white mallee (''
Eucalyptus diversifolia ''Eucalyptus diversifolia'', commonly known as the soap mallee, coastal white mallee, South Australian coastal mallee, or coast gum is a species of Mallee (habit), mallee that is Endemism, endemic to an area along the southern coast of Australia. ...
'') Open Scrub. # Broombush (''
Melaleuca uncinata ''Melaleuca uncinata'', commonly known as broombush, broom honeymyrtle or brushwood, is a plant in the paperbark family native to southern Australia. It is harvested from the wild, and grown in plantations, for broombush fencing. The Noongar nam ...
'')/Silver broombush ('' Baeckea behrii'') Open Heath. # Mixed Herbland.

Fauna observed in the conservation reserve as of 1997 include “sixteen bird species of high conservation significance” including the

black-chinned honeyeater The black-chinned honeyeater (''Melithreptus gularis'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical ...

which was reported as being “rare” and the following two species which were reported as being “vulnerable in South Australia” - the

eastern yellow robin The eastern yellow robin (''Eopsaltria australis'') is an Australasian robin of coastal and sub-coastal eastern Australia. The extent of the eastern yellow robin's residence is from the extreme southeast corner of South Australia through most ...

and the

malleefowl The malleefowl (''Leipoa ocellata'') is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken (to which it is distantly related). It is notable for the large nesting mounds constructed by the males and lack of parental ca ...

. The conservation reserve was reported in 1997 as being “rarely used by park visitors” and that “most common visitors are field naturalists and bird watchers...”

References

External links

Entry for Desert Camp Conservation Reserve on Protected Planet
{{Protected areas of South Australia, state=collapsed

Desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

Background

See also

References

External links