We are committed to improving the condition of 20 priority places under the Threatened Species Action Plan. The Mallee Birds Ecological Community is one of these priority places.
Description
The Mallee Birds Ecological Community is an assemblage of 20 bird species dependent on mallee vegetation in the Murray–Darling Depression bioregion. The mallee spans across a large area at the intersection of the NSW, South Australian and Victorian borders.
The region's climate ranges from semi-arid to mediterranean, with long hot summers, mild winters and low rainfall. The landscape can be characterised by sandy soils, a sparse overstory and an understorey of heathy shrubs, sedges, grasses and herbs.
Native vegetation is highly fragmented, particularly in the southern mallee where the climate is more suitable for agriculture. The Mallee Birds community is listed as endangered under national environment law.
The Mallee Birds priority place is home to many First Nations peoples, who are the Traditional Owners of various lands within the priority place.
The listed Mallee Birds community includes species such as the Malleefowl, Regent Parrot and Western Whipbird. More than 90 other threatened species are found in the mallee including:
- Forked Spyridium
- Winged Pepper-cress
- Murray Hardyhead
- Translocated populations of Greater Bilbies and Numbats (found only in feral predator-free fenced areas).
Other threatened ecological communities are found in the mallee including:
- Plains mallee box woodlands of the Murray–Darling Depression, Riverina and Naracoorte Coastal Plain Bioregions
- Buloke Woodlands of the Riverina and Murray–Darling Depression Bioregions.
More information on the Mallee Birds Community is in the Conservation Advice.
Map of the Mallee Birds Ecological Community showing the density of threatened species
Key threats
The Mallee Birds community faces a number of threats. They operate independently and together to drive species decline. Many of the threats that impact the Mallee Birds Community also impact a variety of other plant and animal species.
The major threats are:
- Invasive species. The species that pose the greatest threat include rabbits, goats, pigs, foxes, cats and deer.
- Habitat loss and degradation due to agricultural activities (clearing, livestock grazing).
- Altered fire regimes. When fire is either too frequent and intense or too infrequent this can negatively impact many plant and animal species.
- Climate change leading to severe weather events (e.g. drought, fire) and changed habitat conditions.
Priority actions
We have considered habitat condition and threats to help inform actions to benefit threatened species in the Mallee Birds community.
Key actions to improve the condition of this priority place include:
- targeted habitat restoration including herbivore and weed management
- re-establishment of appropriate fire regimes
- feral predator control (cats, foxes).
These actions will also benefit many of the region’s other plant and animal species.
We will work in partnership with land and biodiversity managers to deliver these actions.
Improving condition in priority places
Priority place profiles will be updated regularly to include:
- indicators for improvement in condition
- projects to improve condition
- information on changes over time.
Read the Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2032.