Fan Palm Reserve
Encyclopedia
Fan Palm Reserve is an 8.2 ha
nature reserve
in Far North Queensland
, Australia
. It is located in the Wet Tropics of Queensland
World Heritage Site
, 20 km north of Daintree
and 40 km north of Mossman
. It is owned and managed by Bush Heritage Australia
(BHA), by which it was purchased in 1993.
people for gathering food. Its purchase by BHA, the organisation’s first outside Tasmania, reflects the concern felt in the early 1990s about the subdivision
of large areas of the Daintree Rainforest
north of the Daintree River
.
(mesophyll vine forest) dominated by the fan palm Licuala ramsayi
. As well as many other plants of conservation significance it, and adjoining uncleared areas, also protect the habitat of threatened rainforest animals such as the Southern Cassowary
, Striped Possum
and Bennett's Tree Kangaroo. Management issues are dealing with weed
s and feral
pig
s.
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 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 Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is located in the Wet Tropics of Queensland
Wet Tropics of Queensland
The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km² of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range, stretching from Townsville to Cooktown, running in close parallel to the Great Barrier Reef...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
, 20 km north of Daintree
Daintree, Queensland
Daintree is a settlement in North Queensland located 111 kilometres north of Cairns and 56 kilometres from Port Douglas, Queensland. The McDowell Ranges are near the town while the Daintree River flows nearby. It takes its name from Richard Daintree, a pioneering geologist of British origin in...
and 40 km north of Mossman
Mossman, Queensland
For the collection of Horsedrawn Carriages see Mossman CollectionMossman is a town in Far North Queensland, Australia, on the Mossman River...
. It is owned and managed by Bush Heritage Australia
Bush Heritage Australia
Bush Heritage Australia is a non-profit organisation based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that operates throughout Australia. It was previously known as the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, which is still its legal name. It purchases land, assessed as being of outstanding conservation value, from...
(BHA), by which it was purchased in 1993.
History
The reserve is part of an area traditionally used by the Kuku YalangiIndigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
people for gathering food. Its purchase by BHA, the organisation’s first outside Tasmania, reflects the concern felt in the early 1990s about the subdivision
Subdivision (land)
Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...
of large areas of the Daintree Rainforest
Daintree Rainforest
The Daintree Rainforest is a tropical rainforest on the north east coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Mossman and Cairns. At around 1200 square kilometres the Daintree is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian continent...
north of the Daintree River
Daintree River
The Daintree River runs through the Daintree Rainforest in the Cape Tribulation region of Queensland in northern Australia. It is located about 100 kilometres northwest of Cairns in far north tropical Queensland and drains an area of 2,125 square kilometres. The river, along with the Daintree...
.
Flora and fauna
The reserve contains remnant lowland rainforestRainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
(mesophyll vine forest) dominated by the fan palm Licuala ramsayi
Licuala
Licuala is a genus of palms commonly found in tropical rainforests of southern Asia, New Guinea and the western Pacific Ocean islands. They are fan palms, with the leaves mostly circular in outline, sometimes undivided but more usually divided into wedge-shaped segments...
. As well as many other plants of conservation significance it, and adjoining uncleared areas, also protect the habitat of threatened rainforest animals such as the Southern Cassowary
Southern Cassowary
The Southern Cassowary, Casuarius casuarius, also known as Double-wattled Cassowary, Australian Cassowary or Two-wattled Cassowary, is a large flightless black bird...
, Striped Possum
Striped Possum
The Striped Possum is a member of the Petauridae family, one of the marsupial families. The species is black with three white stripes running head to tail, and its head has white stripes that form a 'Y' shape...
and Bennett's Tree Kangaroo. Management issues are dealing with weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
s and feral
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s.