The response of rare floodplain plants to an environmental watering event at Hattah Lakes, Victoria

In 2014 and 2015, botanical surveys were undertaken at Hattah Lakes, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, in semi-arid north-western Victoria, to study the response of understorey vegetation to a strategic environmental watering event. During the surveys, 23 plant species listed on the Victorian Government Advisory List of Rare and Threatened Species were recorded; with two of these species also listed under the 'Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988' (Vic). Four of these species were recorded for the first time in the Park, and for a further 11 species the number of records were, at least, doubled within the Park. The 23 rare species represented five Water Plant Functional Groups. The cover of two functional groups and two species were significantly different before and after inundation. Although species and functional group responses to inundation differed, a key outcome from this study was the increase in rare species records for Hattah-Kulkyne National Park.