The Gondwana Rainforests of

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 ...

, formerly known as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, are the most extensive area of subtropical

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

in the world. Collectively, the rainforests are a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

with fifty separate reserves totalling from to

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Background

The Gondwana Rainforests are so-named because the

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

record indicates that when

Gondwana Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...

existed it was covered by rainforests containing the same kinds of species that are living today. Not all Gondwanan rainforests in Australia are located in the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

region; the largest Gondwanan rainforest in Australia is located in Tasmania's Tarkine wilderness. The number of visitors to the Gondwana rainforest reserves in New South Wales and Queensland is about 2 million per year. The World Heritage status of the region was created and negotiated initially in 1986, with the area extended in 1994, following a nomination which was prepared in 1992 by the Rainforest Conservation Society. The World Heritage listing carries the following inscription: The site was gazetted on the Australian National Heritage List on 21 May 2007 under the ; and the New South Wales portion was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

Conservation value

The forests were inscribed to the World Heritage list in 1986, covering only the New South Wales sites of approximately and extended in 1994 to cover the Queensland sites of approximately which is a total of approximately . The rainforest reserves have an extremely high conservation value, with more than 200 rare or threatened plant and animal species. Eight separate areas have been identified as having outstanding heritage significance to Australia and are included on the Australian National Heritage List. The altitude of the reserves ranges from sea level to almost . On 22 December 2000, the High Conservation Value Old Growth forest covering 24 national parks and 19 nature reserves spread across 12

local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The ph ...

in the upper north east region of New South Wales were listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.

National parks

The Queensland areas include the Main Range, at its most northern point; and extending south, the

Lamington A lamington is an Australian cake made from squares of butter cake or sponge cake coated in an outer layer of chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut. The thin mixture is absorbed into the outside of the sponge cake and left to set, ...

, Mount Chinghee, Springbrook and Mount Barney national parks. The New South Wales areas include the Barrington Tops, at its most southern point; and extending north, the Dorrigo, Mount Warning,

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, Mebbin, Nightcap, Border Ranges, Oxley Wild Rivers, Washpool, Willi Willi and Werrikimbe national parks. The most heavily visited parts are Dorrigo National Park and the Natural Bridge section of Springbrook National Park.

Destruction

The region was historically logged extremely heavily, to such an extent that only 1% of the original range of the Gondwana rainforest remains in Australia. Most of the logged regions have been taken over by

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

forest. During the 2019-2020 Australian bushfire season, many regions of the Gondwana rainforest were devastated by

bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

for the first time, with some preliminary reports indicating that up to 53% of the forests may have burned as of January 2020. Among the devastated habitats are several locations that are significant for some critically imperiled species, such as the nightcap oak and the giant barred frog. The presence of these devastating blazes in areas that have never burned before has been linked to the encroachment of the flammable eucalyptus trees into the logged areas adjoining the forests. The general claim of "never burned before" has been challenged by several commentators, based on an article in '' The Cairns Post'' on 25 October 1951 that reported a "fire has burnt out about 2000 acres of thick rainforest country" in the Lamington National Park.

Australian National Heritage List sections

The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia are divided into sections for listing on the Australian National Heritage List, from north to south, as below:

References

Attribution

External links

World heritage listing for Gondwana Rainforests of Australia

* {{World Heritage Sites in Australia World Heritage Sites in New South Wales World Heritage Sites in Queensland Protected areas of Queensland Protected areas of New South Wales Tourist attractions in Queensland Australian National Heritage List * Forests of New South Wales Forests of Queensland Great Dividing Range Protected areas established in 1986 1986 establishments in Australia New South Wales State Heritage Register Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register Eastern Australian temperate forests Subtropical rainforests