Restoring Critically Endangered Mallee Box Woodlands of the Murray Darling

Restoring Critically Endangered Mallee Box Woodlands of the Murray Darling is an environmental planting project located in the Mid Murray region of South Australia, approximately 15km east of Cambrai and 100km northeast of Adelaide. Registered in July 2022, the project covers a relatively small area of 99 hectares. The surrounding region is traditionally agricultural, dominated by dryland cropping and grazing operations, which has historically led to the clearing of the native mallee vegetation this project aims to restore.

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings methodology. This involves establishing permanent forest cover using a mix of species native to the local area, specifically targeting the "Mallee Box" (Eucalyptus porosa) woodland community. As an environmental planting project, the proponent is required to plant trees at a density sufficient to reach forest potential (typically creating a canopy cover of over 20%), ensuring the carbon sequestration is permanent and biologically diverse.

Environmentally, the site sits within a semi-arid zone, with average annual rainfall typically falling between 260mm and 450mm. The soils in this region are characteristic of the Murray Mallee, often calcareous earths, sandy loams, or duplex soils (sand over clay) which support the specific Mallee Box vegetation types. A key feature of this project is its focus on a specific, critically endangered ecological community, aiming to create a biodiversity corridor in a landscape that has been heavily fragmented by historical farming.