Author(s): Queensland Museum ((various roles)); Queensland Wetlands Program (Department of Environment and Science) ((various roles))

Environmental Issues

For as long as people have lived on the earth, we have relied on wetlands for our survival. Wetlands are among the most important parts of our planet, rich in biodiversity and thrumming with life at scales both vast and microscopic.Queensland has hundreds of thousands of wetlands, and boasts the highest diversity of wetland types of any state or territory in Australia - from outback rivers to floodplain lakes, coral reefs to wallum swamps, arid springs to mangrove-lined channels, and extensive intertidal plains to urban creeks and lagoons. Wetlands are the lifeblood and the jewels of the landscape, connecting habitats and ecosystems through water, land and air. Understanding our relationship to these places is essential to caring for our environment, so that it can continue to provide and care for us.This richly illustrated publication, featuring more than 550 full-colour photographs from every part of the state, endeavours to capture the diversity of Queensland's wetlands, as well as their beauty, their utility, and their fragility. From seagrass and sandflats at the tip of Cape York, to the spectacular waterfalls of the Gondwana Rainforests, and west to the vibrant yellow lakes at the fringe of the Simpson Desert, Wetlands of Queensland showcases an awe-inspiring view of the state, both above and below the water's surface.