›

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

›

Nullarbor Plains xeric shrublands

Biome

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

·

Biogeographic realm

Australasia

Saltbush and bluebush over red plain on the Nullarbor, Australia.

Region photo - No machine-readable author provided. 17177 assumed (based on copyright claims). / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 3.0; attribution required.

Nullarbor Plains xeric shrublands

The Nullarbor Plains xeric shrublands stretch across the Great Australian Bight coast of southern Australia, spanning South Australia and Western Australia over the world's largest single exposure of limestone bedrock. This flat, nearly treeless plain is dominated by low chenopod scrub, chiefly saltbush (Atriplex) and bluebush (Maireana), with some mulga woodland along its western edges. The climate is arid to semi-arid, falling into cold-desert and cold-semi-arid zones, and the surface holds no known permanent water sources. Roughly 630 plant species have been recorded here, including endemics such as the Nullarbor emu bush, while red kangaroos, dingoes, and the southern hairy-nosed wombat range above ground and the chocolate wattled bat shelters in the region's caves. About 32 percent of the ecoregion lies within protected areas, though much of the remainder is grazed by sheep. For dry-climate gardeners, the native saltbushes and emu bush exemplify the tough, drought-tolerant plants suited to this harsh limestone country.

RESOLVE 212

Australasia

76,216 sq mi

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

Landscape type

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

Plant region

Australasia

Region footprint

76,216 sq mi

Habitat pressure

Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)

Source & care

Plants that can handle this region

Plotwright does not have climate-fit plant matches for this region yet. As the catalog grows into this climate band, suggestions will appear here.

Similar planting regions

Browse other regions in the same biome. Their plant lists can suggest species and combinations worth comparing.

Xeric shrubland and sandstone escarpment in Kennedy Range National Park, Western Australia.

RESOLVE 207 - Australasia

Carnarvon xeric shrublands

The Carnarvon xeric shrublands occupy a coastal arid belt of Western Australia, running along the Indian Ocean from the Peron Peninsula at Shark Bay north to the North West Cape. Vegetation shifts with soil and geology: low samphire and saltbush shrublands cover saline alluvial plains, snakewood (Acacia xiphophylla) scrublands occupy clay flats, and bowgada (Acacia ramulosa) low woodland grows on sandy ridges and plains, with mangroves fringing coastal embayments. This is a very dry region receiving less than 250 millimetres of rainfall per year. The ecoregion is a regional centre of endemism and a conservation priority, holding numerous threatened mammal, bird, reptile, and fish species; its characteristic wildlife includes the western grasswren and the red-tailed black cockatoo, and protected areas include Cape Range, Francois Peron, and Kennedy Range National Parks. Hardy native wattles such as Acacia bivenosa and Acacia tetragonophylla (dead finish) are among the drought-adapted shrubs found here.

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

RESOLVE 208 - Australasia

Central Ranges xeric scrub

The Central Ranges xeric scrub covers the arid heart of the Australian outback, spanning the Northern Territory, South Australia, and Western Australia across sandy plains broken by rocky highlands such as the MacDonnell Ranges. Its characteristic cover is thick, tough spinifex (Triodia) grassland interspersed with wooded patches of western myall, mulga (Acacia aneura), and desert oak (Acacia coriacea). The climate is hot and dry, though the region receives some rain in both summer and winter. More than 870 plant species have been recorded here, making it a recognized Centre of Plant Diversity, and the ecoregion is reported to hold more species of lizards than anywhere else on Earth; its flagship animal is the black-flanked rock-wallaby. Specialized endemic flora persists in sheltered gorges, including the relict cabbage palms (Livistona) of Palm Valley in Finke Gorge National Park.

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

RESOLVE 209 - Australasia

Gibson desert

The Gibson Desert is an arid ecoregion of Western Australia, set within the continent's vast interior between the Tropic of Capricorn's salt lakes and dunefields. Its broad gravel and red sand plains, lateritic uplands, and dunes are clothed mainly in spinifex (Triodia spp.) grasslands and hummock shrublands, dotted with scattered eucalypts, Acacia, Hakea, and Grevillea along with mulga parklands. The climate is harsh and dry, with annual rainfall of only about 200 to 250 millimetres and summer temperatures that exceed 40 degrees Celsius. Despite this aridity, the desert supports one of the world's most diverse reptile communities, including the woma snake and the thorny devil, and is a stronghold for birds such as the Major Mitchell's cockatoo and princess parrot. Around 58 percent of the ecoregion lies within protected areas, much of it overlapping Aboriginal lands. For gardeners in hot, dry climates, the region's native Acacia, Hakea, and Grevillea are widely grown ornamentals prized for drought tolerance.

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

RESOLVE 210 - Australasia

Great Sandy-Tanami desert

The Great Sandy-Tanami desert sprawls across the arid heart of Australia, reaching from Western Australia into the Northern Territory and taking in the Little Sandy Desert, Great Sandy Desert, Tanami, and Davenport Murchison Ranges biogeographic regions. It is a landscape of rocky outcrops, red plains, and red sand dunes where spinifex grasslands dominate, punctuated by saltbush shrubs, silver cassia, corkwood trees, acacias, and desert oaks. The climate is hot and dry, and much of the country remains largely uninhabited. Despite its harshness, the ecoregion supports one of the world's richest reptile assemblages, with 578 species recorded, and its flagship animal is the red antechinus, a small mouse-like marsupial predator. Conservation here centers on controlling feral animals such as camels and managing altered fire regimes that threaten the desert's fragile communities. For gardeners drawn to drought-tough plantings, the native flora offers familiar dryland genera including acacias (wattles), desert oaks, and cassia.

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

RESOLVE 211 - Australasia

Great Victoria desert

The Great Victoria Desert is the largest desert in Australia, sprawling across the arid interior of Western Australia and South Australia. Between its many small sandhills it carries open woodlands of Eucalyptus gongylocarpa with mulga (Acacia aneura) and a hummock-grass understory of spinifex, chiefly Triodia basedowii, while pebble-strewn gibber plains and salt lakes stay nearly bare until abundant rains draw out ephemeral wildflowers. The climate is hot and dry, with low and irregular annual rainfall of roughly 200 to 250 mm, summer days of 32 to 40 degrees Celsius, and milder winters around 18 to 23 degrees Celsius. It is a global hotspot for reptile diversity, with over 100 documented reptile species, and the chestnut-breasted whiteface is recognized as its flagship bird. For gardeners in comparably hot, dry regions, the desert's hardy native Eucalyptus and Acacia are well suited to low-water, full-sun planting.

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

RESOLVE 213 - Australasia

Pilbara shrublands

The Pilbara shrublands cover the rugged northwest coast of Western Australia, fronting the Indian Ocean and built on the ancient Pilbara craton, with the gorge-cut Hamersley Range, the Fortescue Plains, the Chichester Plateau, and the Roebourne coastal plain. This is a desert and xeric shrubland landscape where mulga woodlands of Acacia aneura, mixed acacia shrublands, and hummocks of spinifex (Triodia) grasses dominate, with snappy gum (Eucalyptus leucophloia) on the uplands and river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) lining the watercourses. The climate is tropical semi-arid, with rain falling mostly in summer from cyclonic storms and thunderstorms. Its ancient, isolated terrain has produced unusually high endemism, including a remarkable groundwater invertebrate fauna of which more than 90 percent of species are found nowhere else. For gardeners drawn to native plantings, the region also supports the endemic Millstream fan-palm (Livistona alfredii) along its spring-fed riparian pockets.

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

Where this ecoregion reaches

The countries, US states, and Canadian provinces this ecoregion touches, from a spatial join of its RESOLVE polygon against Natural Earth boundaries.

Countries

Australia

Educator packet

Region packet

Nullarbor Plains xeric shrublands educator packet

The Nullarbor Plains xeric shrublands stretch across the Great Australian Bight coast of southern Australia, spanning South Australia and Western Australia over the world's largest single exposure of limestone bedrock. This flat, nearly treeless plain is dominated by low chenopod scrub, chiefly saltbush (Atriplex) and bluebush (Maireana), with some mulga woodland along its western edges. The climate is arid to semi-arid, falling into cold-desert and cold-semi-arid zones, and the surface holds no known permanent water sources. Roughly 630 plant species have been recorded here, including endemics such as the Nullarbor emu bush, while red kangaroos, dingoes, and the southern hairy-nosed wombat range above ground and the chocolate wattled bat shelters in the region's caves. About 32 percent of the ecoregion lies within protected areas, though much of the remainder is grazed by sheep. For dry-climate gardeners, the native saltbushes and emu bush exemplify the tough, drought-tolerant plants suited to this harsh limestone country.

Realm

Australasia

Dominant biome

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

Approximate area

76,216 square miles

States / provinces

Not recorded

Climate descriptor

Not recorded

Classroom prompts

- Which climate and biome facts explain why this region supports its characteristic plants?

- How do native-plant and wildlife-support claims differ from a species-presence claim?

- Which source-backed facts would you cite before using this region in a classroom map activity?

Use the Sources & citations section below for page citation styles and region source links.

Sources & citations

Cite this page

For lesson plans, articles, or regional planting notes that use this Plotwright page. To cite the underlying ecoregion framework or a specific editorial profile, use the source cards below.

Plotwright. (n.d.). Nullarbor Plains xeric shrublands (Nullarbor Plains xeric shrublands). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/regions/resolve-212

Sources for this region

This page cites Plotwright first for the compiled view, then lists the upstream framework, climate, and editorial source pages so readers can cite the original material directly.

RESOLVE 2017 Terrestrial Ecoregions (Dinerstein et al.)

Primary ecoregion framework

One Earth

Wikipedia

Wikimedia Foundation

Open source

Source guide