Karakamia Sanctuary is a 2.75 km² nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 in south-west Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, 4 km from Chidlow

Chidlow, Western Australia

Chidlow is a small community in the Shire of Mundaring approximately 45 kilometres east of Perth, Western Australia.-History:The Chidlow townsite was originally named Chidlow's Well after a small waterhole near the old Northam road. The watering place had been known to travellers for many years and...

 and 50 km north-east of Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

. It is located within the Jarrah

Jarrah

Eucalyptus marginata is one of the most common species of Eucalyptus tree in the southwest of Western Australia. The tree and the wood are usually referred to by the Aboriginal name Jarrah...

 forest of the Darling Scarp

Darling Scarp

The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north-south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia...

 and is owned and managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy

Australian Wildlife Conservancy

The Australian Wildlife Conservancy is an Australian independent, non-profit organisation, working to conserve threatened wildlife and ecosystems in Australia, principally through the acquisition of extensive areas of land on which to establish conservation reserves . These sanctuaries are...

 (AWC).

History

Karakamia was originally purchased by Martin Copley

Martin Copley (conservationist)

Martin Copley is an Australian conservationist and philanthropist who established the Australian Wildlife Conservancy , an organisation which purchases and manages large areas of land, mainly former pastoral properties, as sanctuaries for the conservation of biodiversity.Copley was a British...

 in 1991 and established as a sanctuary in 1992, effectively the founding property of the AWC. Since the initial purchase it has increased in size through the acquisition of adjacent private land. Although much of the property was never cleared, some areas had been cleared or selectively logged and a replanting program is being implemented.

Landscape and climate

Karakamia is on a lateritic

Laterite

Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are rusty-red because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock...

 plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

 dissected by winter-flowing streams. The climate is Mediterranean

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

 with winter rainfall and dry summers. Average annual rainfall is 850 mm.

Fauna

Karakamia is managed to exclude exotic predators and herbivores, and a vermin-proof fence now surrounds the property. Various native mammals that would have occurred there in the past have been successfully reintroduced. These include the Woylie

Woylie

The Woylie , also known as the Brush-tailed Bettong, is a small marsupial that belongs to the genus Bettongia. It is endemic to Australia...

, Quenda, Tammar Wallaby

Tammar Wallaby

The Tammar Wallaby , also known as the Dama Wallaby or Darma Wallaby, is a small member of the kangaroo family and is the model species for research on kangaroos and marsupials. It is found on offshore islands on the South Australian and Western Australian coast...

, Quokka

Quokka

The Quokka , the only member of the genus Setonix, is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. Like other marsupials in the macropod family , the Quokka is herbivorous and mainly nocturnal...

, Numbat

Numbat

The numbat , also known as the banded anteater, or walpurti, is a marsupial found in Western Australia. Its diet consists almost exclusively of termites. Once widespread across southern Australia, the range is now restricted to several small colonies and it is listed as an endangered species...

 and Western Ringtail Possum

Western Ringtail Possum

The Western Ringtail Possum or Ngwayir is a possum found in Western Australia, regarded as a subspecies of Common Ringtail Possum, or as a separate species.-Description:...

. A significant bird present there is the forest subspecies of the Red-tailed Black-cockatoo.

Ecosystems

Ecosystems include a variety of forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 and woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

 types: as well as Jarrah forest, Karakamia contains Marri

Corymbia calophylla

Corymbia calophylla is a bloodwood native to Western Australia. Common names include Marri and Port Gregory Gum, and a long standing usage has been Red Gum due to the red gum effusions often found on trunks.It is distinctive among bloodwoods for its very large buds and fruit Corymbia calophylla...

, Wandoo

Eucalyptus wandoo

Eucalyptus wandoo is a medium-sized tree widely distributed in southwest Western Australia.-Description:It grows as a small to medium-sized tree up to 25 metres in height. It has smooth bark, often in mottled patches of white, light grey, light brown light yellow and pink...

, and Blackbutt

Eucalyptus patens

The eucalyptus tree Eucalyptus patens has been known as yarri, blackbutt, Swan River blackbutt and Western Australia blackbutt....

 woodland, as well as areas of heathland and shrubland

Shrubland

Shrubland, scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity...

, with a Flooded Gum

Eucalyptus rudis

Eucalyptus rudis, Flooded gum, is a medium sized tree with rough, dark and light grey bark, however north of Perth its bark is smooth and very similar to Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Leaves are stalked, alternate, ovate to orbicular 12 x 7 cm, slightly discolourous and dull grey-green...

 and sedge

Cyperaceae

Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...

community along the streams. More than 260 species of plants have been recorded.

External links

• Australian Wildlife Conservancy