Kootaberra Station

Kootaberra Station is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) carbon project located approximately 50km north of Port Augusta in the Far North region of South Australia. Registered in March 2022, the project encompasses a significant landholding of 116,793 hectares. The station is situated along the Stuart Highway and falls within the Pastoral Unincorporated Area, a vast region primarily utilized for extensive grazing of sheep and cattle on pastoral leases.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which differs from tree planting projects by focusing on restoring native vegetation through the management of existing threats. In this arid context, the primary activity involves controlling grazing pressure, typically by managing the timing and extent of livestock access, to allow suppressed native species (such as mulga, myall, and chenopod shrubs) to regenerate from in-situ seed sources, rootstock, or lignotubers.

Environmentally, the region is classified as semi-arid to arid, with a low average annual rainfall of approximately 210mm. The landscape is characteristic of the South Australian rangelands, featuring vegetation such as saltbush, bluebush, and acacia woodlands. The soils in this area are typically calcareous earths, red duplex soils, or sandy loams which support these native shrublands but are fragile and susceptible to erosion if overgrazed.

The project proponent, AI Carbon Projects No 3 Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of Australian Integrated Carbon), specializes in partnering with landholders to manage carbon abatement while maintaining pastoral productivity. The sheer scale of the project, over 100,000 hectares, highlight the potential for large-scale sequestration in Australia's rangelands when grazing pressure is carefully modulated.