Incipient frontal dunes – which develop when pioneer plant species trap and hold wind-borne sand; and Established frontal dunes – older dunes dominated by shrubs and trees and sheltered by a more recently formed frontal dune.
Frontal dunes have a protective role for adjacent coastal heath and rainforest communities by providing protection from sand movement and salt spray. Any loss of vegetation from frontal dunes will reduce the amount of sand deposited, and may exposure neighbouring plant communities to sand and saltwater intrusions.
Many of the plants found on frontal dunes have adaptations that enable them to withstand varying levels of exposure to salt spray, sun, wind and a moving sand surface. Although more than 50 plant species can be found on the seaward and landward profiles of frontal dunes, the following are the more common plant species that occur mainly on the seaward slopes:
Spinifex hirsutus
Lpomoea pes-capre
Carpobrotus glauscens
Casuarina equisetifolia
Banksia integrifolia
More common plants that grow on the landward face of the frontal dunes, are:
