Ruffy Carbon + Biodiversity project IDR2-1460

Ruffy Carbon + Biodiversity project IDR2-1460 is an environmental planting project located in Ruffy, approximately 20km southeast of Euroa in the Strathbogie Ranges of Victoria. Registered in April 2023, the project covers roughly 93 hectares of land that was predominantly used for agricultural purposes for at least five years prior to the project's commencement.

The project operates under the Australian Government's Carbon + Biodiversity Pilot (Round 2), a program designed to reward farmers for increasing on-farm biodiversity alongside carbon sequestration. It utilises the 'Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings' methodology, which involves establishing permanent mixed-species plantings of trees native to the local area. To meet the methodology's requirements, the planting must be stocked at a density sufficient to achieve forest cover (typically defined as reaching 20% crown cover and a height of at least 2 meters), often requiring planting densities of 200 to 400 stems per hectare depending on the specific biodiversity protocol used.

Situated on the Strathbogie Tableland, the region is environmentally distinct, known for its granite outcrops and granitic sandy loam soils. The area is classified as a high rainfall zone relative to the surrounding plains, historically averaging between 800mm and 900mm annually. The land in this region is traditionally used for grazing sheep and cattle, making the reintegration of native shelterbelts and block plantings a common strategy for improving land management and biodiversity connectivity.