Ecosystems/Plants
Wongalara Sanctuary is a hotspot for wildlife because it contains a diverse range of habitats. The Wilton River flows through the property, providing rich riparian vegetation and habitat. Wetlands, sandstone communities and patches of monsoon rainforest provide a contrast to the dry, Spinifex-clad ranges and sandstone plateaus that dominate much of the sanctuary. A large proportion of the ecosystems on Wongalara are either considered to be threatened with extinction or are not protected in any National Park in the Bioregion. These include :
- Wetlands and patches of monsoon rainforest, which have been destroyed in other places as a result of cattle grazing and changing fire patterns across northern Australia.
- At least four broadly defined vegetation types which are not protected in any National Park.
The various ecosystems on Wongalara are in good condition and form an intricate and complex pattern, with fine-scale variation and numerous ‘refugial’ habitats for its wildlife.
Soils range from alluvials and course textured soils along the creek systems, to red earths/red clayey sands, to shallow and deep sands.
Wongalara’s shallow soils carry stringybark, woolybutt and acacia scrub over spinifex, annual sorghums and spear grass. Its undulating country and upland valley floors have a limestone, sandstone and conglomerate base that carries silver box, bloodwood, ti-tree, quinine, bauhinia, coolibah and paperbarks. There are snappy gum and lancewood on escarpment edges.
Wongalara also hosts a range of native tropical grasses including spear grasses, annual sorghum, kangaroo grass, Queensland blue grass, and spinifex.