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

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Water resource planning areas

Wet Tropics water resource planning area

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Name: Wet Tropics
Area type: Water resource planning area
Total area: 1,949,368 ha
% total Qld: 1.1%

Get more detailed information about Wet Tropics water resource planning area

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
Bioregions
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
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

Wet Tropics water resource planning area wetland area by system 2019
System Area (ha) % wetlands area % total area
Total 116,652 100.0% 6.0%
Total excluding riverine and artificial/highly modified riverine 81,407 69.8% 4.2%
Artificial and highly modified 5,349 4.6% 0.3%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (natural) 37,362 32.0% 1.9%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (slightly modified) 190 0.2% 0.0%
Lacustrine (natural) 212 0.2% 0.0%
Lacustrine (slightly modified) 232 0.2% 0.0%
Palustrine (natural) 36,686 31.4% 1.9%
Palustrine (slightly modified) 1,379 1.2% 0.1%
Riverine 35,244 30.2% 1.8%

View wetland system extents for all water resource planning areas

Wet Tropics water resource planning area wetland area by habitat 2019
Habitat Area (ha) % wetlands area % total area
Total 75,384 100.0% 3.9%
Mangroves - Casuarina 0 0.0% 0.0%
Mangroves - other 33,184 44.0% 1.7%
Salt marsh and salt flats 4,163 5.5% 0.2%
Arid and semi-arid saline lake 0 0.0% 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 107 0.1% 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 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain tree swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain shrub swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain tree swamp 548 0.7% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain shrub swamp 0 0.0% 0.0%
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 3,043 4.0% 0.2%
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 6,617 8.8% 0.3%
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 2,373 3.1% 0.1%
Coastal and sub-coastal other non-floodplain swamp 106 0.1% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 15,462 20.5% 0.8%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 5,840 7.7% 0.3%
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain wet heath swamp 498 0.7% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal other floodplain swamp 31 0.0% 0.0%
Coastal and sub-coastal tree (palm) swamp 3,254 4.3% 0.2%
Unknown - Swamp - Arid and semi-arid 0 0.0% 0.0%
Unknown - Swamp - Coastal and sub-coastal 157 0.2% 0.0%

View wetland habitat area for all water resource planning areas

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

Wet Tropics 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 116,652 116,644 116,725 116,681 116,596 116,946 166,571 * 66.8%
Artificial and highly modified 5,349 5,332 5,319 5,318 5,273 5,303 0 n/a
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (natural) 37,362 37,362 37,364 37,355 37,339 37,370 40,295 92.7%
Intertidal (saltmarsh, saltflats, mangroves) (slightly modified) 190 190 190 190 190 190 0 n/a
Lacustrine (natural) 212 212 212 212 212 212 212 99.9%
Lacustrine (slightly modified) 232 232 227 227 227 226 0 n/a
Palustrine (natural) 36,686 36,704 36,789 36,770 36,772 37,041 78,359 46.8%
Palustrine (slightly modified) 1,379 1,366 1,360 1,360 1,360 1,350 0 n/a
Riverine 35,244 35,247 35,265 35,250 35,224 35,254 47,704 73.9%

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

metadata View 2019 wetland system extents for all water resource planning areas

metadata View 2017 wetland system extents for all water resource planning areas

metadata View 2013 wetland system extents for all water resource planning areas

metadata View 2009 wetland system extents for all water resource planning areas

metadata View 2005 wetland system extents for all water resource planning areas

metadata View 2001 wetland system extents for all water resource planning areas

metadata View pre-clear wetland system extents for all water resource planning areas

metadata View 2019/pre-clear wetland system extent percentages for all water resource planning areas

Wet Tropics 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 75,384 75,390 75,470 75,442 75,429 75,719
Mangroves - Casuarina 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mangroves - other 33,184 33,185 33,186 33,186 33,176 33,190
Salt marsh and salt flats 4,163 4,163 4,162 4,154 4,148 4,165
Arid and semi-arid saline lake 0 0 0 0 0 0
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 107 107 107 107 107 107
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 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid floodplain tree swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid floodplain shrub swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain tree swamp 548 548 548 548 548 548
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain shrub swamp 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arid and semi-arid non-floodplain grass, sedge and herb swamp 3,043 3,043 3,043 3,043 3,043 3,043
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 6,617 6,624 6,626 6,606 6,607 6,678
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 2,373 2,373 2,375 2,375 2,374 2,376
Coastal and sub-coastal other non-floodplain swamp 106 106 106 106 106 105
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree (Melaleuca and Eucalypt) swamp 15,462 15,458 15,504 15,491 15,477 15,616
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, and herb swamp 5,840 5,840 5,867 5,881 5,911 5,953
Coastal and sub-coastal floodplain wet heath swamp 498 498 498 498 498 500
Coastal and sub-coastal other floodplain swamp 31 31 31 31 28 28
Coastal and sub-coastal tree (palm) swamp 3,254 3,257 3,259 3,259 3,248 3,253
Unknown - Swamp - Arid and semi-arid 0 0 0 0 0 0
Unknown - Swamp - Coastal and sub-coastal 157 157 157 157 157 157

metadata View 2019 wetland habitat area for all water resource planning areas

metadata View 2017 wetland habitat area for all water resource planning areas

metadata View 2013 wetland habitat area for all water resource planning areas

metadata View 2009 wetland habitat area for all water resource planning areas

metadata View 2005 wetland habitat area for all water resource planning areas

metadata View 2001 wetland habitat area for all water resource planning areas

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

Wet Tropics water resource planning area land use
ALUMC code and description
Area (ha)
% total area
Total 1,947,689 99.9%
1.1 Nature conservation 739,903 38.0%
2.1 Grazing native vegetation 625,266 32.1%
1.3 Other minimal use 166,774 8.6%
3.3 Cropping 157,404 8.1%
1.2 Managed resource protection 60,986 3.1%
6.5 Marsh/wetland 59,890 3.1%
2.2 Production native forests 38,511 2.0%
5.4 Residential and farm infrastructure 26,644 1.4%
4.3 Irrigated cropping 18,499 0.9%
4.4 Irrigated perennial horticulture 14,217 0.7%
3.1 Plantation forests 12,327 0.6%
6.3 River 9,769 0.5%
3.2 Grazing modified pastures 4,523 0.2%
5.5 Services 4,287 0.2%
6.2 Reservoir/dam 2,456 0.1%
5.2 Intensive animal production 1,116 0.1%
4.2 Grazing irrigated modified pastures 961 0.0%
5.3 Manufacturing and industrial 879 0.0%
3.6 Land in transition 799 0.0%
5.7 Transport and communication 761 0.0%
5.8 Mining 756 0.0%
4.5 Irrigated seasonal horticulture 227 0.0%
5.9 Waste treatment and disposal 222 0.0%
6.1 Lake 138 0.0%
5.1 Intensive horticulture 126 0.0%
5.6 Utilities 80 0.0%
3.4 Perennial horticulture 49 0.0%
4.1 Irrigated plantation forests 49 0.0%
4.6 Irrigated land in transition 44 0.0%
6.6 Estuary/coastal waters 21 0.0%
3.5 Seasonal horticulture 6 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 Subtropical
  • map Tropical

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Bioregions info metadata

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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

none

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Marine meso-scale bioregions metadata

  • map Lucinda-Mackay Coast (LMC)
  • map Wet Tropic Coast (WTC)

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Marine provincial bioregions metadata

  • map Northeast Shelf Province

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Regional plans info metadata

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World Heritage areas info metadata

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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

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Study areas metadata

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Report cards metadata

none

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Conservation parks info metadata

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State forests info metadata

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Forest reserves info metadata

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Resources reserves info metadata

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Timber reserves info metadata

none

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Fish habitat areas info metadata

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Coastal management district info metadata

  • map Available (all have been combined since February 2012)

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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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Aquatic ecosystem monitoring programs info metadata

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Point source monitoring info metadata

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Wetland soil indicator case studies info metadata

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Wetland management case studies info metadata

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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

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Water Quality Improvement Plan catchments info metadata

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

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Shorebird zones info metadata

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Biopassage structures info metadata

Name Construction year Structure types Stream name
map Moody Creek 2010 Culvert Moody Creek
map One Mile Creek 2010 Rock Ramp One Mile Creek
map Tully Lagoon Fishway 2020 Rock Ramp
map Victoria Mill 2019 Rock ramp Palm Creek

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Wildlife

Kingdom
Class
 Native Introduced Wetland
indicator
species		 Rare or
threatened
species		 All
TOTAL 6,572 719 588 409 7,291
Animals 1,113 36 271 89 1,149
Mammals 132 13 7 24 145
Birds 475 10 96 32 485
Reptiles 188 2 23 8 190
Amphibians 67 1 22 16 68
Ray-finned fishes 91 8 94 7 99
Cartilaginous fishes 3 0 3 0 3
Insects 150 2 26 1 152
Malacostracans 5 0 0 1 5
Arachnids 2 0 0 0 2
Bacteria 19 0 0 0 19
Chromists 22 0 0 0 22
Fungi 825 1 0 0 826
Plants 4,591 682 317 320 5,273
Protozoans 2 0 0 0 2

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) Wet Tropics water resource planning area — facts and maps, WetlandInfo website, accessed 16 April 2025. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/facts-maps/water-resource-planning-area-wet-tropics/

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