Wingecarribee Swamp facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wingecarribee Swamp |
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Wingecarribee Swamp and Fitzroy Reservoir
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| Location | Illawarra Highway, Robertson, Wingecarribee Shire, New South Wales, Australia |
| Owner | Water NSW |
| Official name: Wingecarribee Swamp | |
| Type | state heritage (landscape) |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 784 |
| Type | Wetland or river |
| Category | Landscape - Natural |
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Wingecarribee Swamp is a special wetland in New South Wales, Australia. It's located near Robertson in the Wingecarribee Shire. This swamp is very old and important, which is why it's listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register. It's also recognized as an important wetland for Australia and was once on the Register of the National Estate.
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What is Wingecarribee Swamp?
Wingecarribee Swamp is a natural wetland that formed a very long time ago, after the last ice age. It sits on top of ancient rock layers called Triassic sandstone and Wianamatta Shale. The swamp has deep layers of peat, which is like very old, partly decayed plant material. These peat layers are super valuable for scientists who want to study Earth's history.
The swamp covers about 340 hectares (that's like 840 football fields!) and is over 5,000 years old. It's considered an "Endangered Ecological Community" by both state and federal governments. This means it's a unique natural area that needs protection because it's at risk.
Special Plants and Animals
Wingecarribee Swamp is home to four species that are threatened, meaning they are in danger of disappearing forever. These include:
- Yellow loosestrife (a plant)
- Wingecarribee gentian (a rare plant found only here)
- Leek orchid (another plant)
- Giant dragonfly (a large insect)
The swamp is also very important for our water supply. Water from Tallowa Dam is pumped into the nearby Wingecarribee Reservoir. From there, it can be sent to other big dams like Warragamba Dam or Nepean Dam.
How the Swamp Has Changed
Over the years, the swamp has faced many challenges.
- In 1974, part of it was flooded when the Wingecarribee Reservoir was built.
- For many years, farmers let their cattle graze there, and the swamp was often burned to create new grass for them.
- People also mined the peat from the swamp, which removed some of its valuable layers.
In August 1998, a part of the swamp actually collapsed into the reservoir. This was likely caused by a mix of heavy rain, the ground being unstable from peat mining, and low water levels in the reservoir at the time. Sometimes, similar "bog bursts" happen naturally in other parts of the world.
After the collapse, the swamp changed a lot. The peat cracked, and a big channel formed on its northern side. Many plants were damaged, and bare peat was exposed. The water in the reservoir became very cloudy. A few months later, willow trees started growing rapidly in the exposed, nutrient-rich peat.
Because the swamp was so damaged, it's not possible to fully restore it to how it was before. Instead, efforts are focused on managing and protecting the valuable parts that are left. Scientists now talk about the swamp in terms of its different areas: the parts that are still intact, the cracked areas, and the "delta." The delta is a mass of peat that pushed into the reservoir, and it's actually developing its own unique natural value.
The Swamp's Unique Features
Wingecarribee Swamp is located in the Southern Highlands, right next to the Wingecarribee Reservoir. It's where the Wingecarribee River begins, which then flows into the Wollondilly River.
This swamp is a special survivor. Most other large swamps from the last ice age in this area have disappeared. Wingecarribee Swamp survived because it's surrounded by low hills that protect it from being washed away by other rivers. It has a rich variety of water and bog plants. The water stays close to the surface, and the drainage is slow, which has helped create the deep, acidic peat layers over thousands of years.
Peat Layers and Plant Life
This is the largest peatland in the mountains of mainland Australia. It covers about 7 square kilometers (that's 700 hectares!) and has peat layers that are usually 3 meters deep, but can be up to 10 meters deep in some spots. Peatlands like this are rare in Australia. The peat here has grown very quickly, with most of it forming in the last 25,000 years.
Wingecarribee Swamp has many different types of plant communities, including:
- Eucalyptus ovata open woodland (gum trees)
- Poa australis closed tussock grassland (grassy areas)
- Leptospermum ovatum tall shrubland (tea trees)
- Sphagnum christatum mossland (mossy areas)
- Carex gaudichaudiana closed sedgeland (grass-like plants)
- Phragmites communis tall closed grassland (reeds)
- Eleocharis dulcis typha muelleri open sedgeland (water chestnuts and reeds)
- Triglochin procerum-carex sp. aquatic sedgeland (water plants)
- Lepyrodia anarthria open rushland (rush plants)
The Lepyrodia community found here is the biggest and richest of its kind. The swamp also has plants that usually grow at higher altitudes, suggesting it might have been a safe place (a refuge) for plants and insects during cooler periods in the past. The endangered Wingecarribee gentian plant is only found in this swamp, and its closest relative lives in the distant Alps.
A Window into the Past
The peat layers in the swamp are like a natural library of information about the environment's history. Scientists have found fossil wood here that is more than 35,000 years old! By studying tiny burnt particles from cores taken from the peat, scientists can learn about how often fires happened in the area for the past 150,000 years, even before people from Europe arrived. It's also possible that this area holds important cultural value for Indigenous Australians, though this hasn't been fully explored yet.
Even though a reservoir now covers about a third of the swamp, and peat has been mined from some areas, the swamp still holds incredible natural value. While some parts have been used for grazing and have seen fires, and there are drains to remove surface water, the amount of European weeds is surprisingly low. This means that even with human activity, the peatland is still actively growing and preserving its natural communities.
Why Wingecarribee Swamp is Heritage Listed
Wingecarribee Swamp is listed as a heritage site because it's a rare example of a very old swamp from the late ice age in southeastern Australia. Studies of its sediments, dating back 15,000 years, have given us important clues about how the climate and plant life in Australia have changed since the Pleistocene era (the last Ice Age).
It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on April 2, 1999, because it meets several important criteria:
A Source of Information
Wingecarribee Swamp is a unique example of a peatland in southeastern Australia. Peatlands are rare in this region, and Wingecarribee is considered outstanding because of its large size. It's also important for understanding how plants and animals have spread across different areas. It acted as a refugia (a safe place) for alpine plants and possibly insects during the last cool period about 10,000 years ago. The endangered Gentiana wingecarribiensis plant, found only here, is a great example of this. Its closest relative now lives far away in the Alps.
This swamp is the best example of a mountain peatland at a relatively low altitude in Australia. It's also the most northern important peatland known in New South Wales. The main plant community, the Lepyrodia anarthria open rushland, is the richest and largest of its kind in Australia. The swamp also shows how plant communities change over time and has some of the best examples of swamp vegetation types.
Oldest Peatland in Australia
Wingecarribee Swamp has the oldest known starting date of any mountain peatland in Australia. Scientific studies of its sediments, dating back 15,000 years, have provided valuable information about climate and vegetation changes since the Pleistocene. Peatlands like this, which grow over a long time, are incredibly valuable for research. Their sediments store important information about the history of the ecosystem and environmental changes in the area. Studies of burnt particles from the swamp have even shown how humans have impacted the plants and landscape of the region since the beginning of the Holocene (our current geological period).
