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| South East Coastal Plain | |
|---|---|
| Name | South East Coastal Plain |
| Type | Ecoregion |
| Location | Southeastern Australia |
| Area km2 | 200000 |
| Bioregion | Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands |
| Countries | Australia |
South East Coastal Plain The South East Coastal Plain is a low-lying ecoregion of southeastern Australia that stretches along the Tasman Sea from southern New South Wales into eastern Victoria. It encompasses extensive plains, river deltas, coastal lagoons and wetlands, framed by the Great Dividing Range and proximate to the Bass Strait and Southern Ocean. The region supports a mix of temperate woodlands, heathlands and freshwater marshes and has been shaped by colonial expansion, pastoralism and modern conservation policy.
The plain includes coastal landforms such as the Sydney Basin, the Illawarra, the Shoalhaven River estuary, the Murrumbidgee River floodplain, the Gippsland Lakes, and the Corner Inlet embayment, extending toward the Wilsons Promontory region and adjacent to Phillip Island, French Island, and the Mornington Peninsula. Major urban centres on the plain include Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra (fringe), Geelong, and Melbourne suburbs, with transport corridors like the Hume Highway, the Princes Highway, the South Coast Railway, and the Monash Freeway crossing it. Islands such as Kangaroo Island (distant analogues) and headlands like Cape Howe define coastal margins; river systems include the Shoalhaven River, the Deua River, the Mitta Mitta River catchments (upland feeders), and distributaries linked to the Murray River basin. Protected landscapes adjacent to the plain include Royal National Park, Kosciuszko National Park (alpine hinterland), Croajingolong National Park, and the Nurragundah reserves.
Bedrock and surficial deposits record influences from the Permian to the Cenozoic with remnants of the Sydney Basin sedimentary sequence, beds of sandstone, shale and conglomerate, and Quaternary coastal deposits. The plain contains alluvial sediments from the Murray–Darling Basin systems and estuarine clays associated with drowned river valleys like the Shoalhaven. Soils range from podzols and sandy coastal soils near the Bass Strait to fertile vertisols and loams in riverine flats of the Gippsland and Monaro fringes, with coastal peat deposits in the Gippsland Lakes and marl along some lagoons. Geological features include raised beaches near Wilson Promontory, dune systems at Ninety Mile Beach, and lithic outcrops related to the Bega and Eden blocks.
The region experiences a temperate maritime climate influenced by the Tasman Sea and the Southern Hemisphere westerlies, with cool winters and mild to warm summers across coastal and inland zones. Rainfall patterns are shaped by the East Australian Current, orographic uplift from the Great Dividing Range, and episodic events linked to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean Dipole. Seasonal variability produces flood events from systems like the La Niña phase and dry spells under El Niño that affect water storages such as the Hume Dam, the Eildon Reservoir, and the Burrinjuck Dam.
Vegetation communities include coastal heath, temperate eucalypt forest, wet sclerophyll forest, saltmarsh, mangrove stands, and freshwater reedbeds in the Gippsland Lakes and estuaries like the Shoalhaven. Iconic flora include capsules and gums of the Eucalyptus genera, understory shrubs found in the Banksia and Acacia groups, and sedge species in the Schoenus assemblage. Fauna assemblages feature marsupials and birds such as the koala, eastern grey kangaroo, sugar glider, platypus, little penguin colonies on offshore islands like Phillip Island, and migratory shorebirds that use the Ramsar Convention-listed wetlands including the Gippsland Lakes and Corner Inlet. Threatened species occurrences include the powerful owl, the southern right whale in adjacent waters, the ostrich fern refugia (localised), and fish such as the Australian bass in estuarine reaches.
Traditional custodians include groups such as the Yuin people, the Wurundjeri, the Bunurong, the Gunditjmara, the Wiradjuri (fringe), and the Walgalu peoples, whose cultural landscapes contain shell middens, songlines and scarred trees associated with places like Booderee National Park and Budawang Range. European exploration and settlement involved figures and events linked to James Cook’s voyages, the First Fleet, the establishment of colonies at Port Phillip, Botany Bay, and interactions marked by frontier conflicts and treaties like those contested around Van Diemen's Land and later legal instruments debated in the High Court of Australia and recognized under Native Title claims exemplified by the Mabo v Queensland (No 2) decision. Industries from the 19th century—whaling at Gippsland, timber extraction in Wolumla and Bega districts, and pastoralism across the plains—reshaped landscapes before modern heritage protection under bodies such as the National Trust of Australia and state parks authorities.
The plain supports intensive agriculture including dairy in Gippsland, viticulture in regions around Yarra Valley, horticulture in the Goulburn Valley fringe, and cropping on floodplains of the Murrumbidgee and Murray systems supplying markets in Melbourne and Sydney. Forestry operations historically supplied timber to settlements like Eden and Bairnsdale, while fisheries and aquaculture operate in estuaries and coastal waters near Port Phillip Bay and the Bass Strait. Urban expansion and infrastructure projects such as the Sydney Metro, the West Gate Bridge, and port facilities at Port of Melbourne and Port Botany have converted peri-urban lands, with water management tied to schemes like the Snowy Mountains Scheme and interbasin transfers affecting irrigation areas.
Conservation efforts are implemented through networks of protected areas including Royal National Park, Croajingolong National Park, and Ramsar listings like Corner Inlet, supported by agencies such as the Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and state departments of environment. Threats include invasive species such as European rabbit and foxes, habitat fragmentation from urbanisation in Sydney and Melbourne corridors, altered fire regimes influenced by policies after events like the Black Saturday bushfires and the Ash Wednesday fires, sea-level rise driven by climate change and extreme events like the 2016 Tasman Sea storm surge that impact coastal wetlands. Restoration projects involve partnerships with organizations such as Greening Australia, the Australian Conservation Foundation, and local Aboriginal land councils pursuing joint management and biodiversity corridors linking reserves like Nattai National Park and Bendigo conservation zones.
Category:Ecoregions of Australia