Lawrence Carbon Project 4

Lawrence Carbon Project 4 is a soil carbon sequestration project located approximately 15km west of the town of Three Springs in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Registered in September 2024, the project covers 468 hectares of agricultural land within the Shire of Three Springs. The region is predominantly used for broadacre mixed farming, consisting of cereal cropping (wheat, barley, canola) combined with sheep grazing.

The project operates under the 2021 Soil Carbon methodology, which rewards landholders for increasing Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks over time. To achieve this, the project involves applying synthetic or non-synthetic fertilizers to address nutrient deficiencies, introducing legume species into cropping or pasture rotations, and utilizing cover crops to maintain soil vegetation. These activities are designed to build carbon in the soil profile, which is measured through baseline and subsequent soil core sampling.

The Three Springs area is characterized by a Mediterranean climate with a winter-dominant rainfall averaging between 350mm and 400mm annually. The local landscape features a mix of soil types, often dominated by yellow or red sandplains and loamy duplex soils, which can be prone to non-wetting issues and low inherent fertility. By implementing improved soil health practices, such as legume integration, the project aims to overcome these constraints and enhance the land's productivity while generating carbon credits. The "Lawrence" in the project name likely refers to the landholder, as other projects (e.g., Lawrence Carbon Project 1) are also registered in the same shire.