The monsoon forests of the Admirality Gulf, Western Australia

Abstract

Recent investigation has revealed the occurrence of patches of ‘monsoon forest’ (Semi-evergreen and Deciduous Vine Thickets sensu Webb 1959) in the north Kimberley District of Western Australia. Rainfall is much higher in this area than was previously assumed and reaches 1500 mm annually. As in southern Queensland these forests occur only on basic igneous rocks. A description is given of the general vegetation of the Mitchell Plateau and of the monsoon forests found there, based on study of seven sites, three of them ‘high-level’ on the scarps of the bauxite plateau, three ‘low-level’ on the lower basalt country and one riverain. Eleven species not previously listed in published records for Western Australia were found. All were known from the Northern Territory and represent an extension of the known range of species comprised in the Indo-Malaysian element of the Australian flora.