Southern Mallee Carbon Project

Southern Mallee Carbon Project is a soil carbon sequestration project located approximately 7km southwest of Hopetoun in the Yarriambiack Shire of western Victoria. Registered in March 2025, the project covers 1,650 hectares in the Southern Mallee region, an area traditionally dominated by dryland broadacre cropping (wheat, barley, canola) and grazing.

The project operates under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models (2021) methodology. This method allows landholders to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by measuring increases in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks over time compared to a baseline. The specific activity registered for this project involves applying nutrients (synthetic or non-synthetic fertilizers) to address material deficiencies in the soil. By optimizing soil nutrition, the project aims to increase plant biomass and root growth, which subsequently drives higher rates of carbon sequestration into the soil profile.

The local environment is characterized as semi-arid, with the Hopetoun area typically receiving low and variable rainfall averaging around 300–370mm annually. The soils in this region are predominantly Calcarosols, often referred to as "Mallee loams" or calcareous sandy earths, which are naturally low in fertility and susceptible to wind erosion. The project proponent, Loam Carbon Pty Ltd, is a prominent developer in the sector known for utilizing microbial seed coating technologies (inoculum) to enhance carbon build-up, often pairing these biological inputs with agronomic practices like the nutrient management listed here.