Fysh Carbon Project

Fysh Carbon Project is a soil carbon project located at Mount Tom, approximately 83 kilometres south-south-east of Gladstone in Central Queensland. It was registered in June 2020 and initially covered 892.96 hectares, though a 2022 project area variation reduced the active acreage to approximately 400 hectares. The Mount Tom and broader Gladstone region is predominantly known for cattle farming and agricultural grazing operations.

Soil carbon projects involve implementing new agricultural management practices to increase the amount of carbon stored within the soil. Following a 2022 method variation, this project operates under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models methodology. This standard requires establishing a baseline and physically measuring soil carbon increases or using approved predictive models, all while introducing eligible management activities. At Fysh Carbon Project, this has been achieved by re-establishing and rejuvenating pasture through zero-till multi-species seeding and implementing planned, rotational grazing.

The region experiences a warm and temperate climate with moderate to high annual rainfall of approximately 830mm. The soil profile on this specific property is described as light, fragile, and sandy, which makes it historically vulnerable to erosion.

This project was set up by landholders Karen and Robert Scanlan in partnership with AgriProve to increase carrying capacity and build farm resilience. Notably, it is a pioneering site; Fysh Carbon Project became the first Australian project to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) under a digitally enabled soil organic carbon model. By successfully capturing more carbon than the cattle operation emits, the project generated 3,559 ACCUs within its first two years, proving the property is beyond net-zero carbon intensity and increasing its livestock carrying capacity by a reported 400%.