Poor in soil, rich in plantlife

There are many unforgettable locations in our region, but this one is a diamond in the rough.

With a picture-perfect wildflower backdrop and great weather to match, it’s no wonder NACC’s recent biodiversity tour through Lesueur National Park was a hit.

More than 40 guests enjoyed an informative afternoon exploring park’s diverse flora and fauna, as part of Professor Hans Lambers’ biodiversity hotspot tour last week.

Lesueur National Park is known as a “jewel in the crown” of Southwest Australia, and is globally recognised by those in the know, as a “hotspot within a hotspot”.

The park is 24 kilometres across and contains a wide range of geological formations, landscapes and soil types.

These vary from salt lakes and remnant coastal dunes in the northwest, through to laterite ridges in the east. This “geodiversity” partly explains the huge diversity of flora in the park: more than 900 species!

Participants were fortunate to see a wide array of these plants in full bloom, including acacias, hibbertias, hakeas, orchids, banksias, trigger plants, fringe lilies, Lechenaultia, Lambertia, and many, many more.

Great day out in Lesueur National Park with Hans Lambers & community members #kwongan @NACC_NRM @ExploreParksWA pic.twitter.com/HbpHnSr9Jx

— Jessica Stingemore (@J_Stingemore) August 20, 2015

The plant life of the park’s sandplains provided the perfect scene for the event, which was organised by the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council.

“To be able to conserve threatened species, the animals that depend on them and the habitats they live in, we need to understand their functioning in the past and present, to protect them for the future” – Except from Plant Life on the Sandplains in Southwest Australia, edited by Hans Lambers.

Guests learnt that the greatest biodiversity on the sandplains is found on the most severely phosphorus-improvised soil, mainly due to specialised cluster roots, symbiosis, carnivorous species or mycorrhizal strategies.

Another interesting fact from Hans was the origin of 1080 poison – being our native pea species (Gastrolobium).

NACC extended a big thanks to Hans Lambers from the Kwongan Foundation for the fantastic day! We, and many of the day’s participants, hope it becomes an annual event.

More photos of this tour can also be found on the Kwongan Foundation’s Facebook page.