Burns Carbon Project

Burns Carbon Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at Ardgour Station, approximately 120km south of Charleville in South-West Queensland. It was registered in December 2015 and covers an area of roughly 8,282 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve changing land management practices to allow native forests to naturally regrow on land where human activity has previously suppressed regrowth for at least 10 years. Standard requirements for this methodology include ceasing the mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth, managing feral animals, and altering the timing and extent of livestock grazing to enable native vegetation to regenerate and form a permanent forest cover.

The South-West Queensland region is traditionally known for pastoral sheep and beef cattle grazing. The area has a semi-arid climate characterized by highly variable, low annual rainfall. The local environment largely consists of mulga lands with soils that are typically highly erodible red earths (Kandosols), sandy loams, and texture-contrast soils.

This project establishes permanent native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers. Ardgour Station, formerly a sheep grazing property, was completely destocked in 2016 following a severe drought. The property was acquired by the Corporate Carbon Group in 2022 and is overseen by its agribusiness arm, Paniri Agricultural Co. The station was subsequently declared a nature refuge through the Queensland Government’s NatureAssist program to protect its ecological and cultural value. As part of its broader conservation activities, the project has included the removal of 45 kilometres of internal fencing and the clearing of firebreaks to enhance local wildlife movement.