Climate Change in the Southern Gulf Region: a background paper to inform the Southern Gulf Natural Resource Management Plan
Crowley, Gabriel (2016) Climate Change in the Southern Gulf Region: a background paper to inform the Southern Gulf Natural Resource Management Plan. Report. Southern Gulf Natural Resource Management, Mount Isa, QLD, Australia.
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Abstract
[Extract] The Southern Gulf region is situated in the far north-west of Queensland and covers all catchments that drain into the southern Gulf of Carpentaria between Karumba and just west of the Northern Territory border.
Land systems of the region are mostly extensive plains and dissected uplands in the south-west, around Mount Isa.
Only around 5% of the native vegetation of the region has been cleared, mostly for urban and agricultural development. The remaining native vegetation, mostly comprising tropical savannahs, grasslands and extensive coastal wetlands remains largely intact although disturbed by grazing and land degradation, in particular weed invasion.
The dominant land use in the region is cattle grazing undertaken on freehold land (chiefly in the south east of the region) or leasehold land (the remainder). The Boodjamulla National Park is a significant feature of the north west of the region. Land reserved for nature conservation has increased in recent years with the addition of new nature refuges and Indigenous Protected Areas.