About the Kingoonya District NRM Group
The Kingoonya district covers an area of approximately 800 square kilometres and is bound by the dog fence to the north and west and salt lakes to the south and east.
Communities
The population in this district is approximately 4000 people, with most residents associated with the mining industry. Townships include Roxby Downs, Woomera, Pimba, Andamooka, Glendambo, Kingoonya and Tarcoola.
Climate
The climate is hot and dry with a cool, short winter. Rainfall is highly variable with average annual totals ranging from 150mm in the northeast to around 200mm in the south-west. There is no apparent seasonality of rainfall. Evaporation rates are high, ranging from 2800mm in the south-west to 3200 mm in the north.
Land Forms
The land forms within this region include sandplains, woodlands, sand dunes, gibber flats, drainage systems, saltlakes and uplands.
Vegetation
Sand plains with woodlands: mulga, woollybutt, bandicoot grass, pearl bluebush, bladder saltbush
Sand dunes: mulga, bullock bush, tar bush, bandicoot grass, woollybutt, red mallee, northern cypress pine, umbrella bush, blackoak, western myall, saltbush bluebush, grasses, spear grass, wattle, pigface, turkey bush, emubush, fuschia bush, neverfail, lovegrass
Drainage with claypans, salt lakes & dunes: cypress pine, mulga, speargrass, lignum, bluebush, pigface, deadfinish, bullockbush, broombush, saltbush, woollybutt, samphire, canegrass, glassworts, hopbush, nitrebush
Drainage with floodplains & creeks: saltbush, bluebush, cottonbush, swamp canegrass, coolibah, boree tea tree, umbrella bush, hopbush, deadfinish, broughton willow, nitre bush, glassworts
Plains: bluebush, saltbush, mulga, grasses, western myall, mulga, blackoak, spiny goosefoot, Australian boxthorn, kerosene grass, canegrass, samphire, Mitchell grass, neverfail
Uplands with scrubland & shrublands: saltbush, samphire, seaheath, neverfail, Mitchell grass, daisies, mulga, turkey bush, emu bush, cassias, western myall, cottonbush, goosefoot, poverty bush
Water
There is very limited naturally occurring permanent water in the district. Water supplies for stock, industrial and domestic purposes are sourced from local ground water, the Great Artesian Basin, local surface water stored in dams, natural ephemeral waters or from outside of the district. Large drainage systems exist and can hold water for several years but are unreliable. Groundwater is very variable in quality and quantity but still significant.
Land Use & Industry
The main type of land use within the district is sheep production, with some cattle production. Other land use includes uranium and gold mining, defence industry operations, tourism and private conservation reserves. There are no government managed conservation areas in this district.
Land Management Issues
Land management issues include: total grazing pressure; feral animals; pest plants; tourism impacts; wind & water erosion; water point management; wild fires; mining & exploration impacts; defence activities.