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.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 24.3°S, 114.6°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
11b-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
12a-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.3°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Deserts & Xeric Shrublands
Realm
Australasia
Approximate area
32,623 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)
About the deserts & xeric shrublands biome
Arid and semi-arid lands where low, erratic rainfall and high evaporation limit vegetation to drought-adapted shrubs, succulents, and sparse grasses. Day-to-night temperature swings are large, and life is finely tuned to water scarcity.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.
Climate-resilient picks · 4
These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.
These plants fit the ecoregion as it is today, but the mid-century projection moves them outside their stated zone range — plan for them to struggle by 2070.
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other deserts & xeric shrublands ecoregions to explore: