The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Australian Institute of Botanical Science have stepped up to take emergency action after drought severely impacted a critically endangered plant in the Mount Kaputar National Park.
Project Officer with NPWS, James Faris said the emergency measures were enacted under the Saving our Species program, when it was discovered that just three adult plants of the Zieria odorifera ssp. copelandii species remained in the National Park.
“Zieria odorifera ssp. copelandii is a small shrub growing to 20 centimetres high on hard rock faces,” Mr Faris said.
“This is an extremely rare plant species that is only found in the western part of Mount Kaputar National Park,” he said.
“This species was so badly impacted by the drought, I personally carried water up the mountain on the weekends during the worst of the dry and watered each of the plants.”
Mr Faris said that despite best efforts, drastic measures had to be taken when plant numbers fell to just three adult plants.
“Surveys were immediately undertaken across the site to locate any additional plants,” he said.
“As part of this work, approximately 300 seedlings were located within the site, this has given us some hope that the population will increase.”
Mr Faris said scientists based at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan had harvested a small amount of genetic material for propagation from two of the adult plants and removed 20 seedlings from the site in the hope of securing the endangered plant’s survival.
He said cages had also been constructed around the plants to protect them from trampling by visitors and from browsing by macropods and feral animals.
