What is biodiversity?
Rainforests
Tropical rainforests - cauldrons of diversity
North Queensland's tropical rainforests are known worldwide for their very high biodiversity. They support:
- more than 1000 species of plants;
- at least 4000 species of insects;
- 160 species of reptiles;
- 128 bird species;
- nearly 90 species of mammals; and
- 47 species of frogs.
Many of the species are endemic to north Queensland, that is, they are found nowhere else. For example, nearly 700 of the plant species in these lush ecosystems are only found in Australia and over 400 of these are only found in the rainforest pockets of north Queensland.
North Queensland rainforests - forgotten by time
About 100 million years ago, the climate of the southern hemisphere was almost all tropical. The great southern supercontinent Gondwana, which included Australia, was covered by humid forests. As Australia's climate became progressively drier and colder, the rainforests were replaced by the arid vegetation which now covers most of Australia. Today, small pockets of ancient Gondwanan rainforest have survived in the wet tropics of northern Queensland. The significance of this ancient group of plants and animals was recognised in December 1988, when the wet tropics of north Queensland were placed on the World Heritage List.
