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Sunshine Coast-Gold Coast Lowlands IBRA subregion

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Based on wetland mapping version 5.0

Sunshine Coast-Gold Coast Lowlands IBRA subregion wetland area by system 2017
System Area (km²) % wetlands area % total area
Total 674.9 100.0% 19.4%
Artificial and highly modified 56.1 8.3% 1.6%
Estuarine 217.3 32.2% 6.2%
Lacustrine 11.2 1.7% 0.3%
Palustrine 327.5 48.5% 9.4%
Riverine 62.8 9.3% 1.8%
Sunshine Coast-Gold Coast Lowlands IBRA subregion wetland area by habitat 2017
Habitat Area (km²) % wetlands area % total area
Total 670.5 100.0% 19.3%
Estuarine - mangroves and related tree communities 168.3 25.1% 4.8%
Estuarine - salt flats and saltmarshes 49.0 7.3% 1.4%
Coastal and sub-coastal saline swamp 0.5 0.1% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain tree swamp—Melaleuca spp. and Eucalypus spp. 60.5 9.0% 1.7%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain wet heath swamp 28.5 4.2% 0.8%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain grass sedge and herb swamp 49.6 7.4% 1.4%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree swamp—Melaleuca spp. and Eucalypus spp. 164.5 24.5% 4.7%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain wet heath swamp 17.9 2.7% 0.5%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, herb swamp 6.1 0.9% 0.2%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lake 0.7 0.1% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand lake 0.0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand lake—Window 0.9 0.1% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand lake—Perched 1.7 0.3% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain soil lake 7.9 1.2% 0.2%
(modified natural) Estuarine - mangroves and related tree communities 1.0 0.2% 0.0%
(modified natural) Estuarine - salt flats and saltmarshes 0.0 0.0% 0.0%
Artificial and highly modified wetlands (dams, ring tanks, irrigation channels) 43.4 6.5% 1.2%
(modified natural) Coastal and sub-coastal saline swamp 0.0 0.0% 0.0%
(modified natural) Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain grass sedge and herb swamp 0.0 0.0% 0.0%
(modified natural) Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree swamp—Melaleuca spp. and Eucalypus spp. 3.6 0.5% 0.1%
(modified natural) Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, herb swamp 0.2 0.0% 0.0%
(modified natural) Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lake 0.1 0.0% 0.0%
(modified natural) Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain soil lake 2.7 0.4% 0.1%
(modified natural) Riverine 0.6 0.1% 0.0%
Riverine 62.8 9.4% 1.8%

Disclaimer

Areas do not include marine or estuarine waters but do include estuarine wetland vegetation
(e.g. mangroves and tidal flats).

All statistics are approximate and generated based on data transformed to a customised Albers equal-area projection, thus allowing wetland extent change for different regions of Queensland to be comparable.

Areas may change over time as mapping approaches improve.

Totals may not match the sum of individually displayed figures due to the rounding of displayed figures.

Wetland extent changes

Sunshine Coast-Gold Coast Lowlands IBRA subregion wetland extent change by system
System 2017 area
(km²)
2013 area
(km²)
2009 area
(km²)
2005 area
(km²)
2001 area
(km²)
2017/pre-clear
percentage
Total 674.9 677.3 676.8 678.6 681.2 * 45.3%
Artificial and highly modified 56.1 54.5 53.6 51.0 48.5 n/a
Estuarine 217.3 218.8 218.2 218.7 219.1 79.0%
Lacustrine 11.2 11.1 10.9 10.8 10.1 99.2%
Palustrine 327.5 329.8 330.9 334.5 339.1 35.4%
Riverine 62.8 63.1 63.2 63.6 64.4 41.9%

* Total 2017/pre-clear percentage excludes artificial and highly modified

Sunshine Coast-Gold Coast Lowlands IBRA subregion wetland extent change by habitat
Habitat 2017 area
(km²)
2013 area
(km²)
2009 area
(km²)
2005 area
(km²)
2001 area
(km²)
Total 670.5 672.8 672.4 674.4 677.8
Estuarine - mangroves and related tree communities 168.3 169.5 169.2 169.4 169.6
Estuarine - salt flats and saltmarshes 49.0 49.2 49.1 49.3 49.5
Coastal and sub-coastal saline swamp 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain tree swamp—Melaleuca spp. and Eucalypus spp. 60.5 60.6 60.8 61.4 62.2
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain wet heath swamp 28.5 28.5 28.7 29.1 29.4
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain grass sedge and herb swamp 49.6 49.6 49.6 49.8 49.9
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree swamp—Melaleuca spp. and Eucalypus spp. 164.5 166.4 167.0 168.8 171.7
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain wet heath swamp 17.9 18.0 18.0 18.5 18.9
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, herb swamp 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.3 6.4
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lake 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand lake 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand lake—Window 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand lake—Perched 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain soil lake 7.9 7.8 7.5 7.5 6.8
(modified natural) Estuarine - mangroves and related tree communities 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.1
(modified natural) Estuarine - salt flats and saltmarshes 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Artificial and highly modified wetlands (dams, ring tanks, irrigation channels) 43.4 41.8 41.4 39.6 38.4
(modified natural) Coastal and sub-coastal saline swamp 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
(modified natural) Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain grass sedge and herb swamp 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
(modified natural) Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree swamp—Melaleuca spp. and Eucalypus spp. 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6
(modified natural) Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, herb swamp 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
(modified natural) Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lake 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
(modified natural) Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain soil lake 2.7 2.6 2.3 1.6 1.1
(modified natural) Riverine 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
Riverine 62.8 63.1 63.2 63.6 64.4

Disclaimer

Areas do not include marine or estuarine waters but do include estuarine wetland vegetation
(e.g. mangroves and tidal flats).

All statistics are approximate and generated based on data transformed to a customised Albers equal-area projection, thus allowing wetland extent change for different regions of Queensland to be comparable.

Areas may change over time as mapping approaches improve.

Totals may not match the sum of individually displayed figures due to the rounding of displayed figures.

Wildlife

Kingdom
Class
Native Introduced Wetland
indicator
species
Rare or
threatened
species
All
TOTAL 5699 864 603 222 6564
Animals 1131 47 285 96 1178
Mammals 120 18 9 13 138
Birds 531 12 100 48 543
Reptiles 139 2 17 11 141
Amphibians 49 1 20 10 50
Lobe-finned fishes 1 0 1 1 1
Ray-finned fishes 66 12 77 4 78
Cartilaginous fishes 20 0 20 3 20
Lampreys 1 0 1 0 1
Insects 194 2 40 4 196
Malacostracans 9 0 0 2 9
Snails 1 0 0 0 1
Bacteria 59 0 0 0 59
Chromists 86 0 0 0 86
Fungi 1071 0 0 0 1072
Plants 3348 817 318 126 4165
Protozoans 4 0 0 0 4

Note: Wildlife statistics are based on information that has been submitted to the DES WildNet database and converted to a 10km² grid. The grid information has been intersected with the mapping polygons to determine the species lists. Click here to view the species grid metadata.

Information from WildNet can also be accessed via Wildlife Online and WetlandMaps.

Rare or threatened includes species listed as extinct, extinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable or conservation dependent under either the Nature Conservation Act or Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act

Disclaimer: While every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of this product, the Queensland Government and Australian Government make no representations or warranties about its accuracy, reliability, completeness or suitability for any particular purpose and disclaim all responsibility and all liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages (including indirect or consequential damage) and costs which might be incurred as a consequence of reliance on the product, or as a result of the product being inaccurate or incomplete in any way and for any reason.

AreaType-ibra-subregion

This page should be cited as:

Department of Environment and Science, Queensland (2013) Sunshine Coast-Gold Coast Lowlands IBRA subregion — facts and maps, WetlandInfo website, accessed 13 April 2023. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/facts-maps/ibra-subregion-sunshine-coast-gold-coast-lowlands/

Queensland Government
WetlandInfo   —   Department of Environment and Science