ECOSYSTEMS OF MAGNETIC ISLAND

Ecosystems are particular associations of plants and animals occurring on a particular combination of geology, landform and soil type. An example is the stream fringing community of paperbarks and blue gums found on the Island, only along the banks and channels of the larger watercourses such as Gustav Creek. Another is the hoop pine communities with a spinifex understory found on rocky headlands.

31 ecosystems are recognised on Magnetic Island. Ten only occur on the hills. The rest are distributed across the Island's lowlands, including beaches and tidal areas.

Why does Magnetic Island have so many different environments?

Mainly because of the variety of landforms and geologies present. The Island’s environments can be broadly divided into two: the highlands and the lowlands.

Highlands: These are the rocky hills with mainly shallow soils. Granite hills dominate the Island. The blue in the north west shows low hills on fine-grained igneous rocks, the Julago Volcanics.

Lowlands: The rest of the colours are lowlands, younger, flatter landscapes with deeper soils.The yellow areas show the gently sloping old red soils that have accumulated around the base of the hills, and the younger alluvial plains and wetlands.

The first mapping of Magnetic Island's Ecosystems 1990

The first map of Magnetic Island ecosystems was prepared to help with fire planning in the National Park so although the highlands were mapped in great detail, the lowland ecosystems were given little attention (Sandercoe, C. (1990) Vegetation of Magnetic Island. Technical Report No. 1 QPWS, Brisbane).

Mapping Magnetic Island's Ecosystems 2005 >

In 2005 the lowlands were mapped in more detail and the whole Island is now mapped as part of the State Wide Regional Ecosystem mapping.

The dominant Regional Ecosystems can be seen above or click here for more detail.

Listing Magnetic Island's ecosystems

View/download the comprehensive list of Magnetic Island’s ecosystems.

Yunbenun: World Heritage Magnetic Island

For more information about the ecosystems of Magnetic Island, see Our World Heritage Island page and view/download MINCA's Yunbenun: World Heritage Magnetic Island booklet.

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ECOSYSTEMS  |  GEOLOGY  |  WORLD HERITAGE |
BIRDS  |  BUTTERFLIES  |  FROGS & TOADS  |  LIFE IN THE OCEAN  | PLANTS  |  WEEDS  | MAMMALS  |  REPTILES  |  SPIDERS & INSECTS

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