Wootoonatoo carbon + biodiversity pilot project ID 1176

Wootoonatoo carbon + biodiversity pilot project ID 1176 is an environmental planting project located in the Lower Eyre Peninsula region of South Australia, approximately 25km north of Port Lincoln near the locality of Wanilla. Registered in March 2022, the project covers a relatively small area of 18.15 hectares. The region is predominantly used for mixed farming, including broadacre cropping (wheat, barley, canola) and livestock grazing (sheep for wool and meat).

This project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings, FullCAM methodology, combined with the Australian Government’s Carbon + Biodiversity (C+B) Pilot. This methodology involves establishing permanent plantings of native tree and shrub species on land that has been clear of forest for at least five years. Unlike standard monoculture plantations, the C+B Pilot requires strict adherence to biodiversity planting protocols, mandating a diverse mix of local native species (often including specific ratios of overstory trees to understory shrubs) to create high-quality habitat rather than just carbon stocks.

The environmental conditions in the Lower Eyre Peninsula are characterized by a Mediterranean climate, with this specific area receiving higher rainfall (approximately 500-600mm annually) compared to the drier northern peninsula. The soils in the Wanilla and Wangary districts are typically ironstone gravels (lateritic podzols) or sandy loams over clay, which are well-suited to the native sugar gum and mallee vegetation native to the area.

A notable feature of this project is its participation in the Carbon + Biodiversity Pilot. This scheme rewards landholders not only with Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) for the sequestered carbon but also with cash payments for the biodiversity stewardship provided by the plantings. This dual-stream funding model aims to incentivize the restoration of complex ecosystems on agricultural land that might otherwise be marginally productive.