The Becher Point Wetlands site is a wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

 nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 on the Swan Coastal Plain

Swan Coastal Plain

The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geological and biological zone, one of Western Australia's...

 of south-western Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. The 677 ha coastal site lies in the City of Rockingham

City of Rockingham

The City of Rockingham is a Local Government Area in the far southern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth.-History:In 1896, residents of Rockingham petitioned to establish a road board, which they proposed be called "Clarence" which was the name of the failed settlement of...

, about 50 km south of the state capital, Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, and is largely surrounded on the landward side by residential suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

s. It comprises about 200 very small wetlands among sand ridges between Becher Point and the Perth-Mandurah Road.

History and recognition

The nature reserve was established in 1996-97; the site is recognised as being of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...

, under which it was designated Ramsar Site 1048 on 5 January 2001. The sedgelands

Cyperaceae

Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...

 of the site are listed as a threatened ecological community

Community (ecology)

In ecology, a community is an assemblage of two or more populations of different species occupying the same geographical area. The term community has a variety of uses...

 under the Commonwealth

Government of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...

 Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and culturally significant places...

. The site is also listed on Australia’s Register of the National Estate

Register of the National Estate

The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...

.

Description

The reserve lies on the beach ridge plains adjoining the coast at Becher Point. Its wetlands are within 0.2-1.5 km of the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

. The wetlands are arranged in about ten groups roughly parallel to the coast, and separated by sand ridges. The system contains examples of shrub swamp

Shrub swamp

Shrub swamps, also called scrub swamps or buttonbush swamps, are a type of freshwater wetland ecosystem occurring in areas too wet to become hardwood swamps , but too dry or too shallow to become marshes...

s and seasonal marsh

Marsh

In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....

es formed in a sequence of inter-dunal

Dune

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...

 swales resulting from coastal advancement over the last three thousand years, a type of wetland system rare in Southwest Australia

Southwest Australia

Southwest Australia is a biodiversity hotspot that includes the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions of Western Australia. The region has a wet-winter, dry-summer Mediterranean climate, one of five such regions in the world...

. They form one of the youngest wetland systems on the Swan Coastal Plain and show a continuum of development in hydrology

Hydrology

Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...

, geomorphology

Geomorphology

Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them...

 and vegetation

Vegetation

Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...

 unique in Western Australia.

Median and mean annual rainfall at Rockingham are 818 mm and 826 mm respectively, mainly falling in winter from May to August, while annual evaporation is about 1900 mm. The site’s wetlands are seasonal; they normally lack surface water in summer and autumn. The fresh surface water of winter comes from rainfall and groundwater flow and is usually less than 0.3 m deep.

Flora and fauna

The swamps support sedgeland, tall open shrubland

Shrubland

Shrubland, scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity...

 and low open forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 or woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

. The sedgeland is dominated by Baumea articulate, B. juncea, Typha

Typha

Typha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of wetland habitats...

spp. and Lepidosperma

Lepidosperma

Lepidosperma is a genus of flowering plant of the family Cyperaceae native to Australia.-Species:Species include:*Lepidosperma angustatum R.Br.*Lepidosperma aphyllum R.Br.*Lepidosperma avium K.L.Wilson...

spp. Schoenoplectus validus, Isolepis nodosa and Juncus kraussii

Juncus kraussii

Juncus kraussii is a species of rush known by the common name Jointed Rush. It is native to temperate coastlines and estuaries of Australia flowering year round.-External links:*...

also occur. The forest and woodland is dominated by the paperbarks Melaleuca rhaphiophylla

Melaleuca rhaphiophylla

Melaleuca rhaphiophylla, or Swamp Paperbark, is a species of tree which is endemic to the South west region of Western Australia....

, M. hamulosa, M. cuticularis

Melaleuca cuticularis

Melaleuca cuticularis, or Saltwater Paperbark is a native tree of Western Australia.- Description :M. cuticularis is a tree that typically grows to a height of - and is fairly dense....

and M. teretifolia. Surrounding areas support open heathland

Heath (habitat)

A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...

.

Native fauna found at the site include the Quenda

Southern Brown Bandicoot

The Southern Brown Bandicoot , also known as the Quenda from the local Noongar tongue from South Western Australia, is a short-nosed bandicoot found mostly in southern Australia....

, Southern Carpet Python and Black-striped Snake

Black-striped Snake

The Black-striped Snake is a species of snake in the Elapidae family. It is endemic to Australia.-References:* Australasian Reptile & Amphibian Specialist Group 1996. . Downloaded on 29 July 2007....

. At least four species of frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

 and 21 reptile

Reptile

Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...

s have been recorded.