What are grasslands?

Australian grasslands are open landscapes dominated by native grasses and scattered shrubs and trees. They cover roughly half of the continent, stretching across the inland from northern tropical savannas to the temperate southern plains, and occupy more land than any other vegetation type in Australia.

Tropical grasslands and savanna woodlands cover the north of the country, from the Kimberley through to Cape York Peninsula. They are dominated by speargrass, kangaroo grass, and bluegrass, with widely spaced eucalyptus and pandanus trees, and shaped by annual cycles of monsoon flooding and dry-season fire. Aboriginal cultural burning has shaped these grasslands for tens of thousands of years and is increasingly recognised as essential to their long-term health.

Mitchell grasslands and Astrebla downs cover the inland plains of central Queensland, the Northern Territory, and northern South Australia. These treeless or near-treeless plains are some of the most productive cattle country in Australia, supporting large stations such as Brunette Downs, Newcastle Waters, and Anna Creek (at 24,000 square kilometres, the largest cattle station in the world). Spinifex grasslands cover the deserts, with low rounded hummocks of sharp-leafed grass dominating the central and western interior.

Temperate grasslands once covered large areas of south-eastern Australia, including the Monaro and the basalt plains west of Melbourne. About 99.5 per cent of the original temperate native grasslands have been ploughed for agriculture or built on, making them one of the most endangered ecosystems in the country. Surviving fragments protect endangered species such as the striped legless lizard, the grassland earless dragon, and the golden sun moth. Grassland conservation now relies on small reserves, private conservation covenants, and roadside remnants.