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WetlandInfo   —   Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation

Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers water resource planning area

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Get more detailed information about Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers water resource planning area

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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

Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers water resource planning area wetland area by system 2019
System Area (ha) % wetlands area % total area
Total 5,297,035 100.0% 4.3%
Total excluding riverine and artificial/highly modified riverine 3,851,683 72.7% 3.1%
Artificial and highly modified 111,895 2.1% 0.1%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (natural) 681,957 12.9% 0.6%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (slightly modified) 0 0.0% 0.0%
Lacustrine (natural) 500,321 9.4% 0.4%
Lacustrine (slightly modified) 12,263 0.2% 0.0%
Palustrine (natural) 2,529,620 47.8% 2.1%
Palustrine (slightly modified) 15,705 0.3% 0.0%
Riverine 1,445,274 27.3% 1.2%
Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers water resource planning area wetland area by habitat 2019
Habitat Area (ha) % wetlands area % total area
Total 3,707,767 100.0% 3.0%
Mangroves - Casuarina 0 0.0% 0.0%
Mangroves - other 191,121 5.2% 0.2%
Salt marsh and salt flats 489,085 13.2% 0.4%
Arid and semi-arid saline lake 466,684 12.6% 0.4%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain lake 20,140 0.5% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain lake 38 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain clay plan lake 179 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid permanently inundated lake 116 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lake 3,141 0.1% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain rock lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (window) lake 5,000 0.1% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (perched) lake 0 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain soil lake 1,007 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid saline swamp 82,209 2.2% 0.1%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain tree swamp 100,820 2.7% 0.1%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain shrub swamp 1,371,343 37.0% 1.1%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 79,490 2.1% 0.1%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain tree swamp 127,397 3.4% 0.1%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain shrub swamp 127,511 3.4% 0.1%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 180,810 4.9% 0.1%
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain swamp 2,802 0.1% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid Great Artesian Basin fed spring swamp 28 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 212,697 5.7% 0.2%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain wet heath swamp 258 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 118,724 3.2% 0.1%
Coastal and sub-coastal other non-floodplain swamp 5,787 0.2% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 29,245 0.8% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 86,208 2.3% 0.1%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain wet heath swamp 3,823 0.1% 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 1,031 0.0% 0.0%
Unknown - Swamp - Coastal and sub-coastal 1,072 0.0% 0.0%

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

Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers water resource planning area 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 5,297,035 5,297,233 5,299,851 5,298,643 5,296,592 5,291,838 5,195,868 * 99.8%
Artificial and highly modified 111,895 111,287 108,731 107,029 103,771 97,438 0 n/a
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (natural) 681,957 681,961 681,964 681,964 681,964 681,964 682,715 99.9%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (slightly modified) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a
Lacustrine (natural) 500,321 500,321 500,321 500,331 500,332 500,332 503,192 99.4%
Lacustrine (slightly modified) 12,263 12,259 12,246 12,221 12,081 12,023 0 n/a
Palustrine (natural) 2,529,620 2,529,836 2,530,253 2,530,571 2,531,391 2,532,101 2,554,170 99.0%
Palustrine (slightly modified) 15,705 15,704 15,688 15,658 15,528 14,732 0 n/a
Riverine 1,445,274 1,445,865 1,450,648 1,450,869 1,451,525 1,453,247 1,455,792 99.3%

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

Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers water resource planning area 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 3,707,767 3,707,870 3,708,274 3,708,563 3,709,254 3,709,172
Mangroves - Casuarina 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mangroves - other 191,121 191,121 191,121 191,118 191,117 191,117
Salt marsh and salt flats 489,085 489,089 489,092 489,095 489,095 489,095
Arid and semi-arid saline lake 466,684 466,684 466,684 466,685 466,686 466,686
Arid and semi-arid floodplain lake 20,140 20,140 20,140 20,140 20,140 20,134
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain lake 38 38 38 38 38 38
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain clay plan lake 179 179 179 179 179 179
Arid and semi-arid permanently inundated lake 116 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lake 3,141 3,141 3,141 3,141 3,141 3,141
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain rock lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (window) lake 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain sand (perched) lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain soil lake 1,007 1,007 1,007 1,007 1,007 1,007
Arid and semi-arid saline swamp 82,209 82,210 82,180 82,182 82,241 82,285
Arid and semi-arid floodplain tree swamp 100,820 100,820 100,842 100,846 101,008 101,015
Arid and semi-arid floodplain shrub swamp 1,371,343 1,371,343 1,371,347 1,371,349 1,371,350 1,371,359
Arid and semi-arid floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 79,490 79,491 79,495 79,495 79,497 79,547
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain tree swamp 127,397 127,513 127,554 127,633 127,704 127,335
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain shrub swamp 127,511 127,532 127,551 127,557 127,731 128,052
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 180,810 180,866 180,911 180,956 181,045 181,265
Arid and semi-arid other non-floodplain swamp 2,802 2,802 2,808 2,824 2,824 2,262
Arid and semi-arid Great Artesian Basin fed spring swamp 28 28 28 28 28 28
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 212,697 212,703 212,706 212,772 212,791 212,891
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain wet heath swamp 258 258 258 258 258 258
Coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 118,724 118,724 118,727 118,727 118,732 118,736
Coastal and sub-coastal other non-floodplain swamp 5,787 5,795 5,831 5,820 5,835 5,846
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 29,245 29,251 29,434 29,441 29,520 29,557
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 86,208 86,207 86,273 86,344 86,360 86,411
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain wet heath swamp 3,823 3,823 3,823 3,823 3,823 3,823
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 1,031 1,031 1,031 1,031 1,031 1,031
Unknown - Swamp - Coastal and sub-coastal 1,072 1,072 1,072 1,072 1,073 1,073

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

Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers water resource planning area land use
ALUMC code and description
Area (ha)
% total area
Total 122,248,552 100.0%
2.1 Grazing native vegetation 98,584,550 80.6%
1.1 Nature conservation 6,583,683 5.4%
1.2 Managed resource protection 5,949,649 4.9%
6.5 Marsh/wetland 4,544,733 3.7%
3.3 Cropping 2,236,127 1.8%
2.2 Production native forests 1,891,313 1.5%
6.1 Lake 968,699 0.8%
1.3 Other minimal use 502,298 0.4%
4.3 Irrigated cropping 364,337 0.3%
6.3 River 154,041 0.1%
6.2 Reservoir/dam 113,463 0.1%
5.4 Residential and farm infrastructure 108,950 0.1%
3.2 Grazing modified pastures 48,077 0.0%
5.8 Mining 34,607 0.0%
4.5 Irrigated seasonal horticulture 31,415 0.0%
5.5 Services 30,351 0.0%
5.7 Transport and communication 24,983 0.0%
6.6 Estuary/coastal waters 19,550 0.0%
3.1 Plantation forests 14,157 0.0%
5.2 Intensive animal production 8,317 0.0%
3.6 Land in transition 6,286 0.0%
4.4 Irrigated perennial horticulture 6,142 0.0%
4.2 Grazing irrigated modified pastures 5,416 0.0%
5.3 Manufacturing and industrial 4,538 0.0%
5.6 Utilities 3,652 0.0%
6.4 Channel/aqueduct 2,890 0.0%
3.4 Perennial horticulture 2,479 0.0%
4.1 Irrigated plantation forests 2,291 0.0%
5.9 Waste treatment and disposal 1,255 0.0%
5.1 Intensive horticulture 202 0.0%
3.5 Seasonal horticulture 99 0.0%
4.6 Irrigated land in transition 4 0.0%

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Wildlife

Kingdom
Class
Native Introduced Wetland
indicator
species
Rare or
threatened
species
All
TOTAL 11,609 1,128 962 612 12,737
Animals 1,882 47 417 180 1,929
Mammals 202 20 8 41 222
Birds 638 12 101 70 650
Reptiles 473 2 43 44 475
Amphibians 95 1 35 8 96
Lobe-finned fishes 1 0 1 1 1
Ray-finned fishes 122 8 129 6 130
Cartilaginous fishes 6 0 6 2 6
Insects 322 4 94 4 326
Malacostracans 9 0 0 1 9
Branchiopods 1 0 0 0 1
Arachnids 5 0 0 0 5
Snails 8 0 0 3 8
Bacteria 63 0 0 0 63
Chromists 119 0 0 0 119
Fungi 1,451 3 0 0 1,454
Plants 8,090 1,078 545 432 9,168
Protozoans 4 0 0 0 4

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-water-resource-planning-area

This page should be cited as:

Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Queensland (2013) Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers water resource planning area — facts and maps, WetlandInfo website, accessed 13 April 2025. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/facts-maps/water-resource-planning-area-great-artesian-basin-and-other-regional-aquifers/

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