Lovers Lane Creekline carbon + biodiversity project ID 1085

Lovers Lane Creekline carbon + biodiversity project ID 1085 is an environmental planting project located approximately 18km southwest of Katanning in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Registered in May 2022 by proponent Andrew Gibbons, the project covers 21.78 hectares of land. The site was predominantly used for agricultural purposes for at least five years prior to the project's commencement.

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings methodology. This involves establishing permanent native tree and shrub species at densities sufficient to achieve forest cover. The methodology utilizes the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM) to estimate carbon sequestration. As an environmental planting, the trees are protected for a set permanence period (usually 25 or 100 years) and are not intended for harvest.

The Katanning region is a major agricultural hub known for mixed farming, specifically sheep grazing (wool and meat) and broadacre cropping of wheat, barley, and canola. The area experiences a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters, averaging approximately 480mm of rainfall annually. Soils in the region are typically duplex, consisting of sandy or loamy topsoils over clay subsoils. The specific reference to "Creekline" in the project name suggests the planting is situated in a riparian zone or valley floor, areas often targeted for revegetation to manage water tables and combat dryland salinity, which is a common issue in the Western Australian Wheatbelt.

A distinguishing feature of this project is its participation in the Australian Government's Carbon + Biodiversity (C+B) Pilot, as indicated by the specific naming convention and "ID 1085". This pilot program rewards farmers for increasing on-farm biodiversity by planting diverse, locally native vegetation mixes in conjunction with generating Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). The project area was expanded via a variation in November 2023.