Description
The South East Coastal Plain bioregion occurs entirely within Victoria and includes the Gippsland Plain, Otway Plain and Warnambool Plain sub-regions. The Gippsland Plain includes low lying coastal and alluvial plains, barrier dunes and swampy flats. Grassland and grassy woodland is associated with yellow and grey textured soils of the fertile flood plains. The Otway Plain in south west Victoria, includes coastal plains and dunes, foothills with river valleys and swamps in the lowlands. Grassland and grassy woodlands occur on floodplains on pale yellow and grey texture contrast soils.
Details
Area
1,749,237 ha
Climate
Temperate climate characterised by warm to hot dry summers and cool wet winters. Mean annual rainfall varies between 550 and 1120 mm with many of the drier areas in rainshadows of the Otway and Strzelecki Ranges. Rainfall distribution is uneven in the western part of the bioregion, with higher falls in the winter months, but is more uniform across the year in Gippsland.
Grassland communities
Gippsland Red Gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis subsp. mediana) Grassy Woodland and Associated Native Grassland; Natural Temperate Grassland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain; Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands (Freshwater) of the Temperate Lowland Plains