Rocky Station Human-Induced Regeneration Project

Rocky Station Human-Induced Regeneration Project is a native forest regeneration project located in the Mulga Lands bioregion of Queensland, approximately 60 kilometers southeast of Charleville and southwest of Morven. Registered in May 2018, the project covers a substantial area of 15,362 hectares within the Murweh Shire. The region is historically defined by pastoral activities, with the vast majority of the surrounding land used for grazing sheep and cattle on native vegetation.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) methodology. Unlike environmental plantings where new seedlings are manually introduced, HIR projects rely on the regeneration of native forests from existing soil seed banks and rootstocks (lignotubers). To achieve this, the project proponents, Jeffrey and Susan Murphy, working with service provider CO2 Australia, implement changes in land management to stop activities that previously suppressed regrowth. This primarily involves managing grazing pressure from livestock and feral animals, as well as ceasing mechanical clearing, to allow the landscape to return to woodland forest cover.

Environmentally, the site is situated in a semi-arid zone typical of the Mulga Lands. The area experiences an average annual rainfall of approximately 500mm, which can be highly variable. The terrain typically consists of flat to undulating plains featuring red earth soils and sandy loams, which support vegetation dominated by Mulga (Acacia aneura) and Poplar Box woodlands. These soil types are characteristic of the "hard mulga" and "soft mulga" land systems common in the Murweh Shire.

A notable aspect of this project is its commitment to a 100-year permanence period, ensuring the sequestered carbon remains stored in the vegetation for a century, rather than the standard 25-year option. This long-term commitment indicates a significant shift in the property's management strategy, integrating carbon farming alongside or in place of traditional extensive grazing.