Rivernook Land System

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Tertiary sediments outcrop along the coast at Moonlight Head, Rotten Point and Apollo Bay. The terrain is a deeply dissected plain fronted by steep coastal cliffs. The rainfall is high.

The soils vary, ranging from old profiles with evidence of lateritization to young soils with little horizon development. The native vegetation appears to be more dependent on exposure to salt- and sand-laden coastal winds than on the soil type. Casuarina luehmannii at Rotten Point is an unusual member of the vegetative community, but most species are well adapted to the harsh environment.

Clearing is confined to an area near Apollo Bay used for grazing. The area has high landscape and nature conservation values, but disused sand and gravel extraction pits at Moonlight Head and Rotten Point detract from these attributes. Once the vegetation is disturbed, re-establishment is slow and difficult and sheet, rill and gully erosion are likely to occur.

A Study of land in the catchments of the Otway Range and adjacent plains - rivernook

These rugged coastal cliffs provide some of the most spectacular
coastal scenery in the study area.

Area: 18 km²	Component and its proportion of land system
Area: 18 km²	1 10%	2 20%	3 30%	4 30%	5 10%
CLIMATE Rainfall, mm	Annual: 850 – 1,000, lowest January (40), highest July (110)
Temperature, 0^oC	Annual: 14, lowest July (10), highest February (18)
	Temperature: No month less than 10^oC (av.)
	Precipitation: Exceeds potential evapotranspiration all months.
GEOLOGY Age, lithology	Lower Cretaceous sandstone and mudstone	Paleocene undifferentiated sand and clay			Recent calcareous sand
TOPOGRAPHY Landscape	Deeply dissected uplifted plains with coastal cliffs
Elevation, m	0 – 150
Local relief, m	70
Drainage pattern	Dendritic
Drainage density, km/km²	2.5
Land form	Cliff	Deeply dissected plain			Dune
Land form element	-	Lower slope	Dissected slope	Upper slope, crest	-
Slope (and range), %	70	7 (4-12)	14 (2-36)	5 (1-14_	14 (2-36)
Slope shape	Concave	Linear	Convex	Convex	Convex
NATIVE VEGETATION Structure	Open heath to tall shrubland	Open scrub	Open scrub	Low woodland	Open scrub
Dominant species	Casuarina stricta, Cassinia longifolia, Helichrysum paralium, Casuarina luehmannii, Calocephalus brownii	E. baxteri, E. nitida, Leptospermum juniperinum, E. ovata, E. obliqua	E. baxteri, E. nitida, Leptospermum juniperinum, Casuarina luehmannii, Cassinia longifolia, E. ovata, E. obliqua	E. baxteri, E. ovata, E. nitida	Helichrysum paralium, Leptospermum juniperinum, Cassina longifolia, Acacia verticillata
SOIL Parent material	Beach sand, some cliff detritus	Clay, silt and sand	Sand	Clay, silt and sand	Calcareous sand
Description	Stony brown gradational soils	Yellow-brown gradational soils, coarse structure	Grey sand soils with hardpans, uniform texture	Mottled yellow and red gradational soils with ironstone.	Brown calcareous sand soils, uniform texture
Surface texture	Loamy sand	Sandy loam	Loamy sand	Sandy loam	Loamy sand
Permeability	Very high	Low	Low	Moderate	Very high
Depth, m	0.1	>2	>2	>2	>2
LAND USE	Uncleared areas: Nature conservation; landscape conservation; sand and gravel extraction; forest grazing. Minor cleared areas: Residential; dairy farming; beef cattle grazing, often on unimproved pastures.
SOIL DETERIORATION HAZARD Critical land features, processes, forms	Native vegetation is sensitive to salt pruning and disturbance. Dispersible soils of low water-holding capacity on steep slopes with underlying rock are prone to sheet erosion. Wave undercutting and saturation of soils lead to landslides. Weakly structured sand soils are prone to wind erosion.	Highly dispersible soils are prone to gully and tunnel erosion. Weakly structured surfaces overly slowly permeable subsoils are prone to sheet and rill erosion.	Weakly structured surfaces overlying hardpans on steeper slopes are prone to sheet and rill erosion. Very low inherent fertility and leaching of permeable surfaces lead to nutrient decline.	Weakly structured surfaces and impeding ironstone layers lead to sheet erosion on steeper slopes. Low inherent fertility, phosphorus fixation and leaching of permeable surface horizons lead to nutrient decline.	Weakly structured soil subject to strong coastal winds are prone to wind erosion. Low inherent fertility, high alkalinity and rapid leaching lead to nutrient decline.

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