Geomorphology

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Both types of palm swamps (feather and fan palms) typically grow in areas with greater than 3000 mm annual rainfall on very wet, poorly drained soils of the Wet Tropics coastal lowlands. Feather palm swamp wetlands are found in the lowland floodplain and estuarine complexes of river drainage systems. They occur in very wet lowland swamps, generally less than 15 m above sea level, on waterlogged alluvial soils where the watertable is consistently high. The soils of these areas are derived from basaltic and granitic parent material, and are generally highly fertile when drained.

Fan palms are more likely associated with poorer quality metamorphically derived soils, compared to feather palm swamp wetlands.