7.8 Stuarts Point Revegetation

1) Stuarts Point located on the Mid-North Coast of NSW. 5 kilometers long with a width varying between 200 - 400 metres. Covers an area of 80 hectares and separates the beach from the Macleay River
2) 1893 - Cattle grazing destroys fragile vegetation due to a large flood
1893 - Three more ocean breaches occur on different occasions due to storms
May 1965 - Advice on the vegetation planting is given to the progress association
August 1965 - More cattle grazing destroys attempts at revegetation in the area
1970 - Revegetation is successful which therefore creates the stabilization of sand dunes
1972 - Controlling access to the sand dunes is granted
3) The local community plays a large part in the revegetation of Stuarts Point as they help revegetate by growing near plants aswell as staying away from them so they can't trample them. Also, the can now stop cattle grazing by building fence sand other things to help the sand dunes
4) The people of Stuart's Point are interested and motivated in stabilizing the sand dunes as their income depends on the fishing and tourism industry that motivates foreigners from Australia and overseas to fish at Stuart's Point. Also, many expensive homes are located around the sand dunes and losing them would be millions of dollars lost in property. So losing the sand dunes would impact very much on the locals lost the sand dunes
5) The natural vegetation succession used three dune areas, the Primary (Incipient) , Secondary (Fore) and Tertiary (Hind) Species which all had different types of plants. The Primary dune had grasses and creepers, Secondary had shrubs and short living trees and Tertiary species had long living trees
6) Vegetation is important in stabilizing sand dunes because plants make the sand rigid and allows it to stop water from washing away the plants
7) Cattle grazing destroyed the fragile vegetation on the Incipient dune by either being trampled or eaten whilst the plants were vulnerable
8) The changes to the sand dune area would be that the sand dune would become barren because of constant cattle grazing. There would be no sand dunes because all the sand would of the process of wind deposition which would move sand else where which would create an unprotected sand dune
9) The groups involved in the rehabilitation program were Stuarts Point Association, the Soil Conservation Service of NSW, the locals at Stuarts Point, Department of Land, Department of Public Works and the Macleay Shire Council
10) The first stage in creating a stable coastal vegetated area is to use a tractor to create a foredune, and when this is done, a dune-forming sense is built. Next, Marram grass and coastal spinifex is grown to stabilize the dune. The second stage is to plant trees along the riverbank to stabilize the area. Seedlings native to the area are grown between the riverbank and the fore dune, then rapid growing wattles were then planted just before tertiary vegetation was grown to stabilize the entire dune.
12) Longshore drift and therefore deposition and transportation would've been the reason the river mouth silted up. After many years without prevention, the sand deposited would've completely closed off the river mouth.
13) A) The stabilization of the sand dunes was a success and the sand located in the area rarely moves
B) The Macleay River ecosystem was changed and animals had new habitats and living areas after revegetation but the Bitou Bush is now spreading rapidly and controlling the dunes vegetation
C) This has benefited groups as the fishing and tourism industries has stayed with a positive income aswell as the expensive waterfront homes have been saved.
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