Little creek carbon plus biodiversity 1127

Little Creek Carbon Plus Biodiversity 1127 is an environmental planting project located approximately 6km south of St Arnaud in the Central Goldfields region of Victoria. Registered in November 2022, the project covers a small area of 8.44 hectares. The surrounding region is predominantly utilized for mixed farming, incorporating both sheep grazing and dryland cropping operations such as wheat and canola.

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings-FullCAM methodology. This involves establishing permanent plantings of native tree species on land that was previously cleared for agricultural use. The methodology requires that the plantings achieve specific density and canopy cover configurations to be recognized as forest cover (or mallee woodland) within the FullCAM model, which calculates the carbon sequestered by the growing trees over time.

Environmentally, the St Arnaud region sits within a temperate transitional zone, experiencing an average annual rainfall of approximately 500mm to 550mm. The local landscape is characterized by duplex soils, often featuring sandy or clay loams overlying heavier clay subsoils. These soils historically supported box-ironbark forests and mallee woodlands before agricultural clearing.

A notable feature of this project is its likely participation in the Australian Government's Carbon + Biodiversity Pilot, as indicated by the "Carbon Plus Biodiversity" naming convention. This scheme rewards farmers for increasing on-farm biodiversity alongside carbon sequestration, suggesting the project planting list includes a diverse mix of local native species designed to provide habitat for local fauna.