Australia’s native vegetation and habitats have been severely affected since European colonisation. Almost 40 per cent of forest (Bradshaw 2012) and more than 90 per cent of grasslands have been lost or heavily degraded.
Like many features at the interface of the land and water, beaches are dynamic environments and vary widely in morphology, wave climates, tidal regimes, sedimentology and degree of modification.
The section should be read in conjunction with the Heritage report. Much of the data in the Heritage report include the coastal zone, so it is summarised here and readers are directed to the Heritage report for detail.
Clark GF, Johnston EL (2016). Coasts: Topics. In: Australia state of the environment 2016, Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra, https://soe.environment.gov.au/theme/coasts/topics?framework=111, DOI 10.4226/94/58b659bdc758b