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Changes in vegetation structure and composition over a 28 year period (1978–2006) following removal of human-induced disturbances, were examined in a calcareous coastal dune system in Point Nepean National Park (380 19’S, 1440 41’E) in south-eastern Victoria, Australia. In the early 1980s human habitation of Point Nepean was abandoned and disturbance regimes such as burning, slashing and land clearing were altered or removed, providing an opportunity to study the recovery of disturbed coastal vegetation. Broad-scale and community-level vegetation changes were assessed by comparing quadrat and GIS mapping data from 1978 with data collected in 2006. Results indicate a change in broad vegetation patterns; shrubland vegetation has replaced hind dune grasslands and disturbed areas and there has been a decrease in exposed coastal areas (such as blowouts, dunes and cliffs), and an increase in woody native species and highly invasive woody weeds. The changes highlight the importance of incorporating vegetation states in planning management actions in dynamic coastal vegetation.
We use historical information and extensive contemporary surveys to describe the pre-European vegetation of the Nepean Peninsula, an extensive area of calcareous sand dunes at the tip of the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne, Victoria (38º19’S 144º43’E). We conclude that much of the area was once covered by open, grassy woodlands, variously dominated by Allocasuarina verticillata (Drooping Sheoak), Banksia integrifolia subsp. integrifolia (Coast Banksia), Acacia species (Wattles), and Melaleuca lanceolata subsp. lanceolata (Moonah), along with a range of other species. Some areas supported shrublands, woodlands, forests, grasslands and wetlands. This area was markedly distinct from most other nearby areas, and has ecological affinities with areas in western Victoria. Over 200 years of ‘European’ land use have left this landscape remarkably different today – even in places where native vegetation persists. We review and discuss the environmental factors that have influenced the pattern and structure of the vegetation.
