Hacienda de Trigo Endemic Vegetation Carbon Project

Hacienda de Trigo Endemic Vegetation Carbon Project is an environmental planting project located in the central Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, approximately 10km north of the town of Corrigin. Registered on February 19, 2024, the project covers 196.69 hectares of land previously used for broadacre agriculture. The project name, "Hacienda de Trigo," translates from Spanish to "Wheat Estate," reflecting the dominant land use of the surrounding district, which is characterized by extensive wheat, barley, and canola cropping alongside sheep grazing.

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings methodology. This involves establishing permanent plantings of mixed native tree and shrub species on land that has been clear of forest cover for at least five years. The primary objective is to sequester carbon in the biomass of the growing trees. To meet the methodology's standards, the planting must be established at a density sufficient to achieve forest cover, typically defined as reaching a height of at least two meters and a canopy cover of at least 20% at maturity.

Environmentally, the Corrigin region experiences a semi-arid to Mediterranean climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 370mm, which has been historically declining. The local soils are typically sandy loams, gravelly sands, or duplex soils (sand over clay). These soil types are often susceptible to compaction and salinity when cleared for agriculture; consequently, revegetation projects in this area often serve the dual purpose of carbon sequestration and land restoration.

A notable feature of this project is its integrated nature. It is run in conjunction with a soil carbon project (Hacienda de Trigo Soil Carbon Project) on the same property. The initiative has received financial support from the Western Australian Government’s Carbon Farming Land Restoration Program (CF-LRP), which provided funding to assist with activities such as deep ripping, soil amelioration, and the establishment of endemic vegetation to improve soil health and biodiversity.