Mediterranean-climate conditions are present in two portions of Australia: southwestern Western Australia, and South Australia around Adelaide. The core Southwestern Floristic Province of Western Australia is about 302 km x 103 km in size, similar to the California Floristic Province. A region that experiences two rainy seasons is often included as well, and almost doubles […]

The Southwestern Australia floristic region includes about 6,800 species, with large numbers of new species continuing to be described. If species that extend slightly beyond the Southwestern Botanical Province into a transitional interzone are included, 79% of the flora has been considered to be endemic, although newer analyses are lowering this figure. Notable endemics include […]

The vertebrate fauna of Australian Mediterranean-type ecosystems are not unusually diverse, nor are many endemic. Instead, the majority are populations of more typically arid or mesic habitat species whose ranges extend into Southwestern or South Australia. The majority of the vertebrates have relatively broad ecological niches rather than specialized requirements unique to the Mediterranean-climate regions. […]

Although aboriginal people arrived in Australia at least as far back as 40,000 years ago, European settlement of southwestern Australia did not occur until the early 19th century. Agricultural expansion, grazing, and deforestation over the past century have had profound ecological effects and have fragmented the natural landscape. Introduced animal species such as rabbits, foxes, […]