Punch Carbon Project 1

Punch Carbon Project 1 is a soil carbon sequestration project located in the Western Australian Wheatbelt, approximately 25km northwest of the town of Cunderdin and 130km east of Perth. Registered in November 2023, the project covers a land area of 210.83 hectares. The region is heavily utilized for broadacre dryland cropping and sheep grazing, characterized by a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters.

The project operates under the 2021 Soil Organic Carbon methodology, which relies on a hybrid approach of physical soil sampling and computer modelling (using FullCAM) to estimate carbon storage. By implementing specific land management activities, in this case, retaining stubble after harvest and applying targeted synthetic or non-synthetic fertilizers to address nutrient deficiencies, the project aims to increase the level of organic carbon stored in the soil. Stubble retention is a critical practice in this semi-arid environment (annual rainfall approx. 350mm), as it reduces moisture loss and protects the sandy loam and duplex soils typical of the region from wind erosion.

The project is developed by Agriprove Solutions, a prominent service provider in the Australian carbon market known for managing a large portfolio of soil carbon projects. By improving soil health through nutrient management and biomass retention, the project seeks to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) while simultaneously enhancing the agricultural productivity of the land.