Key habitat and threatened species resilience

Many important coastal and floodplain wetland environments have been impacted by flooding. Mangrove systems have been smothered with over a metre of sediment causing the death of many trees. Seagrass beds and other key fish habitats impacted by months of turbid fresher water are vulnerable to large scale die-off, impacting the associated ecosystem biota. In other areas flood debris and bulky waste litter the foreshore causing physical damage to these habitats and leaving a legacy of ongoing threats such as microplastic creation and risks for human and wildlife injuries. Threatened species, such as Oxleyan Pygmy Perch, that only occur in a limited range of locations and habitats on the NSW north coast floodplains have been dislocated.