'Waterhole North' Environmental Planting Project

'Waterhole North' Environmental Planting Project is an environmental planting project located at Rollands Plains, approximately 40km northwest of Port Macquarie in New South Wales. It was registered in August 2024 and covers a project area of 30.07 hectares.

Environmental planting projects involve establishing permanent plantings of native tree species on land that was previously cleared for agricultural use. To meet the standard requirements of the methodology, the planting must include species native to the local area and achieve a density sufficient for forest cover, typically requiring at least 200 stems per hectare. Carbon sequestration for the project is modeled using FullCAM software, which estimates biomass growth based on local climate and soil data.

The Rollands Plains region features rolling hinterland terrain where land use has historically been dominated by cattle grazing and forestry operations. The area is characterized as a high-rainfall zone, which supports vigorous vegetation growth. Local soils are typically a mix of alluvial loams near watercourses and clay-based soils, such as Kurosols or Ferrosols, on the slopes.

The proponent, Carbon Fix Pty Limited, specifically targets these high-rainfall areas for their projects to maximize carbon yield and ecological co-benefits like biodiversity improvement. The Waterhole North project converts land that was predominantly used for agricultural purposes for at least five years prior to project commencement into a permanent carbon sink.