NSW North Coast bioregion area
- 3,996,591 hectares in total, all in NSW
The NSW North Coast bioregion is bounded by the Sydney Basin bioregion in the south, the South East Queensland bioregion to the north and the Nandewar and New England Tablelands bioregions to the west. It is one of only 2 bioregions falling entirely within NSW, the other being Cobar Peneplain bioregion.
Before IBRA v6, the South East Queensland bioregion did not extend beyond the Queensland border. A large part of what was NSW North Coast bioregion is now South East Queensland, which now extends 200km south, to encompass Grafton.
The NSW North Coast bioregion is a popular place to live, with many holiday towns lining the coast and eastern inland, including Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Dorrigo, Forster and Taree.
The Coffs Harbour, Bellinger, Nambucca, Macleay, Hastings and Manning river catchments are all in this bioregion.
The climate ranges from sub-tropical in the east through to temperate in the uplands. There is a small area at higher elevation in the south-west with a montane climate.
There is a wide variety of soils, vegetation, climate and topography within this bioregion. The NSW North Coast bioregion has over 370 threatened animal and plant species. There are 8 significant wetlands, including the Ramsar-listed Myall Lakes, that provide habitat to many waterbirds and threatened mammals.
The NSW North Coast bioregion has the second highest area of conservation oriented mechanisms in NSW, covering over 18% of the bioregion.
Read the North Coast bioregion chapter of 'Bioregions of New South Wales' (2003) (PDF 3.7MB) for more information.
