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Bioregions

Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD) bioregion

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Name: Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD)
Area type: Bioregion
Total area: 24,162,329 ha
% total Qld: 14.0%
Page table of contents
Catchment stories
Wetland observations
Wetland extents
Wetland extent changes
Australian Land Use and Management Classification (ALUMC)
Drainage divisions
Drainage basins
Drainage sub-basins
Regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies
Local government areas
100K map tiles
Climate zones
Biogeographic subregions
IBRA bioregions
IBRA subregions
Bioregional assessment areas
Marine meso-scale bioregions
Marine provincial bioregions
Regional plans
World Heritage areas
Ramsar internationally important wetlands
DIWA nationally important wetlands
National parks
Marine parks (Queensland)
Study areas
Report cards
Conservation parks
State forests
Forest reserves
Resources reserves
Timber reserves
Fish habitat areas
Coastal management district
Nature refuges
Freshwater biogeographic provinces
Aquatic Conservation Assessments (AquaBAMM) and others
Wetland (aquatic ecosystem) type—conceptual models
Wetland (aquatic ecosystem) type—management profiles
Groundwater dependent ecosystem type—conceptual models
Healthy Land and Water conceptual models
Water resource planning areas
Aquatic ecosystem monitoring programs
Point source monitoring
Wetland soil indicator case studies
Wetland management case studies
Wetland projects
Area specific conceptual model case studies
Paddock to Reef (P2R) report cards
Water Quality Improvement Plan catchments
EPP (Water) scheduled environmental values and water quality objectives
Shorebird zones
Biopassage structures
Related legislation/policies
Wildlife

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Catchment stories info

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Wetland observations

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Wetland extents info metadata

Based on wetland mapping version 6.0

Display areas in

Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD) bioregion wetland area by system 2019
System Area (ha) % wetlands area % total area
Total 240,028 100.0% 1.0%
Artificial and highly modified 6,786 2.8% 0.0%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (natural) 0 0.0% 0.0%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (slightly modified) 0 0.0% 0.0%
Lacustrine (natural) 1,231 0.5% 0.0%
Lacustrine (slightly modified) 2,737 1.1% 0.0%
Palustrine (natural) 46,030 19.2% 0.2%
Palustrine (slightly modified) 389 0.2% 0.0%
Riverine 182,854 76.2% 0.8%

View wetland system extents for all bioregions

Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD) bioregion wetland area by habitat 2019
Habitat Area (ha) % wetlands area % total area
Total 47,302 100.0% 0.2%
Mangroves - Casuarina 0 0.0% 0.0%
Mangroves - other 0 0.0% 0.0%
Salt marsh and salt flats 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid saline lake 1,159 2.4% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain clay plan lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid permanently inundated lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain rock lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (window) lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (perched) lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain soil lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid saline swamp 16 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain tree swamp 2,796 5.9% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain shrub swamp 11,908 25.2% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 25 0.1% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain tree swamp 520 1.1% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain shrub swamp 25,778 54.5% 0.1%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 5,097 10.8% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid Great Artesian Basin fed spring swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain wet heath swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal other non-floodplain swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 2 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain wet heath swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal other floodplain swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal tree (palm) swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Unknown - Swamp - Arid and semi-arid 0 0.0% 0.0%
Unknown - Swamp - Coastal and sub-coastal 0 0.0% 0.0%

View wetland habitat area for all bioregions

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.

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Wetland extent changes

Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD) bioregion wetland extent change by system
System 2019 area
(ha)		 2017 area
(ha)		 2013 area
(ha)		 2009 area
(ha)		 2005 area
(ha)		 2001 area
(ha)		 pre-clear area
(ha)		 2019/pre-clear
percentage
Total 240,028 239,970 239,912 239,849 239,733 239,482 232,885 * 100.2%
Artificial and highly modified 6,786 6,725 6,560 6,493 6,365 5,960 0 n/a
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (natural) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (slightly modified) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a
Lacustrine (natural) 1,231 1,231 1,231 1,231 1,231 1,231 1,233 99.8%
Lacustrine (slightly modified) 2,737 2,737 2,736 2,733 2,732 2,741 0 n/a
Palustrine (natural) 46,030 46,030 46,030 46,030 46,030 46,030 46,120 99.8%
Palustrine (slightly modified) 389 389 389 389 389 389 0 n/a
Riverine 182,854 182,858 182,966 182,973 182,986 183,130 185,531 98.6%

* Total 2019/pre-clear percentage excludes artificial and highly modified

metadata View 2019 wetland system extents for all bioregions

metadata View 2017 wetland system extents for all bioregions

metadata View 2013 wetland system extents for all bioregions

metadata View 2009 wetland system extents for all bioregions

metadata View 2005 wetland system extents for all bioregions

metadata View 2001 wetland system extents for all bioregions

metadata View pre-clear wetland system extents for all bioregions

metadata View 2019/pre-clear wetland system extent percentages for all bioregions

Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD) bioregion wetland extent change by habitat
Habitat 2019 area
(ha)		 2017 area
(ha)		 2013 area
(ha)		 2009 area
(ha)		 2005 area
(ha)		 2001 area
(ha)
Total 47,302 47,302 47,302 47,302 47,302 47,302
Mangroves - Casuarina 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mangroves - other 0 0 0 0 0 0
Salt marsh and salt flats 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid saline lake 1,159 1,159 1,159 1,159 1,159 1,159
Arid and semi-arid floodplain lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain clay plan lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid permanently inundated lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain rock lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (window) lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (perched) lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain soil lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid saline swamp 16 16 16 16 16 16
Arid and semi-arid floodplain tree swamp 2,796 2,796 2,796 2,796 2,796 2,796
Arid and semi-arid floodplain shrub swamp 11,908 11,908 11,908 11,908 11,908 11,908
Arid and semi-arid floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 25 25 25 25 25 25
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain tree swamp 520 520 520 520 520 520
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain shrub swamp 25,778 25,778 25,778 25,778 25,778 25,778
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 5,097 5,097 5,097 5,097 5,097 5,097
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid Great Artesian Basin fed spring swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain wet heath swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal other non-floodplain swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 2 2 2 2 2 2
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain wet heath swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal other floodplain swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal tree (palm) swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Unknown - Swamp - Arid and semi-arid 0 0 0 0 0 0
Unknown - Swamp - Coastal and sub-coastal 0 0 0 0 0 0

metadata View 2019 wetland habitat area for all bioregions

metadata View 2017 wetland habitat area for all bioregions

metadata View 2013 wetland habitat area for all bioregions

metadata View 2009 wetland habitat area for all bioregions

metadata View 2005 wetland habitat area for all bioregions

metadata View 2001 wetland habitat area for all bioregions

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.

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Australian Land Use and Management Classification (ALUMC) metadata

Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD) bioregion land use
ALUMC code and description
Area (ha)
% total area
Total 24,149,669 99.9%
2.1 Grazing native vegetation 23,218,899 96.1%
6.5 Marsh/wetland 417,794 1.7%
1.1 Nature conservation 359,800 1.5%
1.2 Managed resource protection 47,512 0.2%
1.3 Other minimal use 32,131 0.1%
6.1 Lake 29,427 0.1%
6.2 Reservoir/dam 10,610 0.0%
6.3 River 9,010 0.0%
5.7 Transport and communication 5,293 0.0%
5.4 Residential and farm infrastructure 5,289 0.0%
5.5 Services 4,212 0.0%
3.3 Cropping 3,691 0.0%
5.8 Mining 3,174 0.0%
4.3 Irrigated cropping 1,863 0.0%
5.2 Intensive animal production 289 0.0%
5.3 Manufacturing and industrial 222 0.0%
5.9 Waste treatment and disposal 189 0.0%
4.2 Grazing irrigated modified pastures 175 0.0%
5.6 Utilities 45 0.0%
3.6 Land in transition 20 0.0%
4.4 Irrigated perennial horticulture 16 0.0%
3.4 Perennial horticulture 4 0.0%
4.5 Irrigated seasonal horticulture 2 0.0%
5.1 Intensive horticulture 2 0.0%

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Drainage divisions info metadata

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Drainage basins info metadata

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Drainage sub-basins info metadata

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Regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies info metadata

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Local government areas info metadata

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100K map tiles info metadata

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Climate zones info metadata

  • map Desert
  • map Grassland
  • map Subtropical

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Biogeographic subregions info metadata

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IBRA bioregions info metadata

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IBRA subregions info metadata

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Bioregional assessment areas info metadata

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Marine meso-scale bioregions metadata

none

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Marine provincial bioregions metadata

none

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Regional plans info metadata

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World Heritage areas info metadata

none

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Ramsar internationally important wetlands info metadata

none

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DIWA nationally important wetlands info metadata

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National parks info metadata

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Marine parks (Queensland) info metadata

none

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Study areas metadata

none

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Report cards metadata

none

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Conservation parks info metadata

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State forests info metadata

none

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Forest reserves info metadata

none

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Resources reserves info metadata

none

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Timber reserves info metadata

none

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Fish habitat areas info metadata

none

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Coastal management district info metadata

none

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Nature refuges info metadata

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Freshwater biogeographic provinces info metadata

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Aquatic Conservation Assessments (AquaBAMM) and others info metadata

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Wetland (aquatic ecosystem) type—conceptual models info metadata

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Wetland (aquatic ecosystem) type—management profiles info metadata

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Groundwater dependent ecosystem type—conceptual models info metadata

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Healthy Land and Water conceptual models info metadata

none

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Water resource planning areas info metadata

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Aquatic ecosystem monitoring programs info metadata

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Point source monitoring info metadata

none

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Wetland soil indicator case studies info metadata

none

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Wetland management case studies info metadata

none

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Wetland projects info metadata

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Area specific conceptual model case studies info metadata

none

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Paddock to Reef (P2R) report cards info metadata

none

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Water Quality Improvement Plan catchments info metadata

none

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EPP (Water) scheduled environmental values and water quality objectives info metadata

none

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Shorebird zones info metadata

none

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Biopassage structures info metadata

Name Construction year Structure types Stream name
map Longreach Fishway 2011 Rock Ramp Thompson River
map Oma Crossing 2008 Rock ramp Barcoo River

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Wildlife

Kingdom
Class
 Native Introduced Wetland
indicator
species		 Rare or
threatened
species		 All
TOTAL 2,527 253 253 84 2,780
Animals 660 24 120 41 684
Mammals 80 14 1 10 94
Birds 334 6 64 20 340
Reptiles 162 1 4 6 163
Amphibians 23 1 9 0 24
Ray-finned fishes 36 2 38 4 38
Insects 18 0 4 0 18
Malacostracans 4 0 0 0 4
Arachnids 1 0 0 0 1
Snails 2 0 0 1 2
Bacteria 8 0 0 0 8
Fungi 86 0 0 0 86
Plants 1,773 229 133 43 2,002

Note: Wildlife statistics are based on information that has been submitted to the DETSI 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-bioregion

This page should be cited as:

Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Queensland (2013) Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD) bioregion — facts and maps, WetlandInfo website, accessed 22 April 2025. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/facts-maps/bioregion-mitchell-grass-downs-mgd/

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