Australian Forests for a Cleaner Climate #2

Australian Forests for a Cleaner Climate #2 is a plantation forestry project operating across two distinct sites in Tasmania: one situated near Buckland, approximately 50km northeast of Hobart, and the other near Exeter in the Tamar Valley, roughly 25km northwest of Launceston. Registered in April 2023, the project covers a total area of 304.38 hectares. The regions are heavily utilized for diverse agriculture, including grazing and viticulture, but are particularly renowned for significant forestry operations due to Tasmania's favorable growing conditions.

This project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Plantation Forestry) Methodology Determination 2022. It specifically combines two activities: establishing a new plantation forest on land that has not been forested for at least seven years, and converting an existing short-rotation plantation (typically harvested for woodchips) into a long-rotation plantation (harvested for structural timber or sawlogs). Unlike environmental planting projects which are permanent, this method integrates with commercial forestry cycles, generating carbon credits by increasing the average carbon stock of the trees over time and storing carbon in long-lived wood products after harvest.

The environmental conditions across the two sites vary slightly, reflecting Tasmania's diverse microclimates. The northern site near Exeter generally enjoys a cool-temperate climate with reliable rainfall (typically 800mm–1000mm annually) and fertile soils often characterized as Ferrosols (red clay loams) or Dermosols, which are ideal for rapid tree growth. The southern site near Buckland is located in a drier rain shadow (often <800mm) with soils derived largely from Jurassic dolerite and sandstone, such as Kurosols or Tenosols, which can be shallower and rockier.

A notable aspect of this project is its dual approach to carbon abatement. By converting short-rotation crops to long-rotation, the project essentially delays harvesting, allowing trees to grow larger and store more carbon on-site for longer periods. This specific project is part of a broader portfolio managed by Corporate Carbon Advisory, one of Australia's largest multi-sector carbon developers, aimed at leveraging Tasmania's established timber industry infrastructure to generate high-integrity carbon credits.