Maslen Plantation

Maslen Plantation is a Plantation Forestry project located approximately 17km north-northeast of Gloucester (and about 40km west of Taree) in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales. It was registered in November 2023 and covers an area of 453.31 hectares.

Projects that transition a plantation forest to a permanent planting generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by protecting an existing commercial plantation that was otherwise at risk of being cleared. Under the standard methodology requirements, the project proponent must provide evidence that the land would have been converted to a viable, non-forested land use within 24 months, and they are required to maintain the forest permanently rather than harvesting it for wood products. The permanence period nominated for this specific project is 100 years.

The surrounding Gloucester and Taree hinterland is characterised by rolling hills and is a well-known agricultural district, predominantly used for dairy farming, beef cattle grazing, and commercial forestry operations. The region experiences a humid, sub-tropical climate with high annual rainfall, often exceeding 1,100mm per year. The local soils vary significantly based on geology but are heavily composed of Kurosols, Rudosols, and Ferrosols (derived from volcanic basalt), along with alluvial clay loams in the river valleys.

This project sequesters carbon by ensuring the trees remain in the ground permanently, providing a stable carbon sink in a regional landscape where agricultural conversion is a common risk.