Numinbah Nature Reserve
New South Wales
Antarctic Beech at Numinbah Nature Reserve
Numinbah Nature Reserve is located in New South Wales
Numinbah Nature Reserve
Numinbah Nature Reserve
Nearest town or citySpringbrook, Queensland
Coordinates28°15′S 153°16′E / 28.250°S 153.267°E / -28.250; 153.267
EstablishedDecember 1981 (1981-12)[1]
Area8.58 km2 (3.3 sq mi)[1]
Managing authoritiesNSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
WebsiteNuminbah Nature Reserve
See alsoProtected areas of
New South Wales

Numinbah Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve that is located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The reserve was gazetted in December 1981 with a further addition made in 1989 to make the reserve to its current area of 858 hectares (2,120 acres). The reserve is situated north-east of the rural locality of Numinbah, and south of the Queensland town of Springbrook and defines part of the state border between New South Wales and Queensland.

The reserve is part of the Mount Warning/Tweed caldera, situated in the Border Ranges; and is part of the Shield Volcano group of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Gondwana Rainforests of Australia inscribed in 1986 and added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2007.[2][3][4] It is also part of the Scenic Rim Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance in the conservation of several species of threatened birds.[5]

Description

The area includes an escarpment rising to over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level that forms part of the Queensland/New South Wales border. Below the cliffs are extensive sub tropical rainforests. The reserve is intended to be a place where the flora and fauna are free from interference from humans, domestic animals and feral pests. The southern edges are bounded by private landholdings.

Vegetation

The vegetation is primarily sub-tropical rainforest with some wet sclerophyll forest. A group of Antarctic beech are at their northernmost limit of natural distribution.[6] The beech trees are in an area of one hectare, within a cool temperate rainforest stand of 2.9 hectares at Best-of-all Lookout in Numinbah Nature Reserve.[7] Located in a high rainfall area with frequent mist. Many of the trees are in the form of a depauperate thicket, with stems arising from massive, gnarled, above-ground roots. An often photographed, triple stemmed tree is situated in the reserve, just south of the state border. This plant is considered to be of a great age.[8]

The rare rainforest tree Springbrook leatherwood occurs in this reserve.[9] The subtropical rainforest at the base of the rhyolite cliffs is considered outstanding amongst the rainforests of Australia. Particularly at the heads of Pat Smiths Creek, Crystal Creek and Couchy Creek. Soils are enriched with basalt on a shelf below the Springbrook plateau. Many rare species of plants and unusually tall trees are present beside huge fallen rhyolite blocks. Climbing plants have been recorded at a diameter of one metre. The rainforest botanist A.G.Floyd has recorded the following species as record sizes in this nature reserve; black booyong, purple cherry, red lilly pilly, rose marara and black bean.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Numinbah Nature Reserve: Park management". Office of Environment and Heritage. Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  2. ↑ "Numinbah Nature Reserve: World Heritage". Office of Environment and Heritage. Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  3. ↑ Adam, Paul. "New South Wales Rainforests". The Nomination for the World Heritage List. p. 67. ISBN 0-7305-2075-7.
  4. ↑ "Gondwana Rainforests of Australia". World Heritage List. UNESCO. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  5. ↑ "Scenic Rim". Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  6. ↑ Adam, Paul (1987). New South Wales Rainforests - The Nomination for the World Heritage List. National Parks & Wildlife Service of NSW. p. 52. ISBN 0-7305-2075-7.
  7. ↑ Floyd, A. G. Australian Rainforests of New South Wales. Vol. 1. p. 30. ISBN 0-949324-31-0.
  8. ↑ "Antarctic Beech (2500 - 3000 yrs old)". Project Noah (PDF). Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  9. ↑ Floyd, A. G. (2008). Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia. Inkata Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-9589436-7-3.
  10. ↑ Floyd, A. G. Australian Rainforests of New South Wales. Vol. 2. p. 4. ISBN 0-949324-32-9.
  11. ↑ Luis Weber, rainforest botanist


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