The Victoria Plains tropical savanna stretches across northwestern Australia, spanning the central Northern Territory and northeastern Western Australia, where it forms a transition zone between the monsoonal north and the arid interior; the dramatic Bungle Bungle Range of Purnululu National Park lies within it. Its most extensive vegetation is woodland of eucalypts (Eucalyptus) and bloodwoods (Corymbia) over a tall-grass understory of Sorghum, Heteropogon, Themeda, Chrysopogon, Aristida, and Eriachne, while a distinctive lancewood-bullwaddy woodland of Acacia shirleyi and Macropteranthes kekwickii covers lateritic soils on the eastern Sturt Plateau. The climate is tropical savanna, with a monsoonal summer wet season from November to March followed by a long dry season. The short wet season drives a boom-and-bust cycle of growth that supports a rich assemblage of seed-eating birds, including the endangered Gouldian finch and the purple-crowned fairy-wren. Gardeners may recognize the ecoregion's flagship plant, the Victoria River fan palm (Livistona victoriae), among the native fan palms of the region.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 17.2°S, 130.8°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12b-13a
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
12b-13a
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +4.8°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.
Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)
About the tropical & subtropical grasslands, savannas & shrublands biome
Warm grasslands and savannas where grasses dominate and trees are scattered, maintained by seasonal rainfall, grazing, and fire. They support large herbivore communities and respond sharply to wet–dry cycles.
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.
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 tropical & subtropical grasslands, savannas & shrublands ecoregions to explore: