Ranking spring wetlands in the Great Artesian Basin of Australia using endemicity and isolation of plant species

Floristic survey data from spring wetlands in the Great Artesian Basin of Australia were assessed to generate a ranked list of significant flora values. A system was designed to score endemic species and remote populations of plants, using an extensive herbarium database to set the spring flora in context. The sum of these indices for individual wetland complexes yielded a ranked score. The high priority wetland complexes (scoring five or greater) adequately represent their floristic composition, capture all endemic plant species and 76% of the flora. Although data are limited, many of the high value spring wetlands have endemic fauna of which the snails have been most thoroughly surveyed. The procedure provides direction for an efficient conservation program that if implemented should provide security against a range of threatening processes.