Inverloch Coastal Resilience Project: Ecological Values of the Inverloch and Point Smythe Coastal Dune System Report prepared for the South Gippsland Conservation Society by Alison Oates, Oates Environmental Consulting Pty. Ltd. (OEC), June, 2019 Oates Environmental Consulting Pty Ltd Newhaven Victoria [email protected] TEL: 0409 939775 Report Title: Inverloch Coastal Resilience Project: Ecological Values of the Inverloch and Point Smythe Coastal Dune System Report prepared for the South Gippsland Conservation Society by Alison Oates, Oates Environmental Consulting Pty. Ltd. (OEC), June 2019. Author: Alison Oates Oates Environmental Consulting Pty Ltd [email protected] Document History: Final Report: 4th July 2019 Revised Version: 9th October 2019 This work is copyright. 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Ecological Values of Inverloch and Point Smythe Coastal Dune System CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 LIST OF MAPS ............................................................................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................................. 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................... 6 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 9 2 Background ................................................................................................................................................... 9 3 Study area .................................................................................................................................................... 10 4 Literature review .......................................................................................................................................... 10 4.1 Background history, early reports and maps ................................................................................................. 10 4.2 Management plans, technical reports ............................................................................................................ 12 4.3. Key values of the coastal dune system arising from the literature review ...................................................... 20 5 Ecological Vegetation Class (EVC) Maps .................................................................................................. 21 6 Ecological Vegetation Class Descriptions ................................................................................................ 21 6.1 Coast Banksia Woodland ............................................................................................................................. 22 6.2 Coastal Dune Grassland .............................................................................................................................. 24 6.3 Coastal Dune Scrub ..................................................................................................................................... 26 6.4 Damp Sands Herb-rich Woodland ................................................................................................................ 28 6.5 Estuarine Reedbed ....................................................................................................................................... 29 6.6 Estuarine Scrub ............................................................................................................................................ 30 6.7 Estuarine Wetland ........................................................................................................................................ 31 6.8 Wet Saltmarsh Herbland .............................................................................................................................. 32 7 Discussion of EVC map .............................................................................................................................. 32 7.1 Flat Rocks beach ........................................................................................................................................... 33 7.2 Flat Rocks huts site to Ozone Street, Inverloch ............................................................................................. 33 7.3 Ozone Street to the jetty ................................................................................................................................ 33 7.4 Toy’s Backwater ............................................................................................................................................ 34 7.5 Toy’s Backwater to Screw Creek ................................................................................................................... 35 7.6 Point Smythe Coastal Reserve Study Area ................................................................................................... 35 8 Flora .............................................................................................................................................................. 35 8.1 Compilation of plant species lists .................................................................................................................. 35 8.2 Summary of flora species .............................................................................................................................. 35 8.3 Significant flora .............................................................................................................................................. 36 8.4 Significant vegetation patches ....................................................................................................................... 39 9 Fauna ............................................................................................................................................................ 40 1 Ecological Values of Inverloch and Point Smythe Coastal Dune System 9.1 Compilation of fauna species lists ................................................................................................................. 40 9.2 Summary of fauna species ............................................................................................................................ 40 9.3 Significant fauna ............................................................................................................................................ 40 10 Inverloch coastal dune system and the BCSC Biolinks project .............................................................. 44 11 Importance of the coastal dune system as a habitat for fauna ............................................................... 45 12 Effect of climate change and dune recession on flora and fauna values ............................................... 46 12.1 Flora .............................................................................................................................................................. 46 12.2 Avifauna ........................................................................................................................................................ 47 12.3 Other fauna ................................................................................................................................................... 50 13 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................... 50 13.1 Monitoring rates of dune recession: Port Fairy Coastal Group ...................................................................... 51 13.2 Rebuilding and rehabilitation of sand dunes: A case study at East Beach, Port Fairy ................................... 54 13.3 Rebuilding and rehabilitation of sand dunes: Inverloch Foreshore ................................................................ 58 13.4 Natural regeneration ...................................................................................................................................... 59 13.5 Supplementary planting in native vegetation ................................................................................................. 59 13.6 Revegetation ................................................................................................................................................. 59 13.7 Amenity plantings .......................................................................................................................................... 61 13.8 Weed control ................................................................................................................................................. 61 13.9 Pest animal management