The revival or regeneration of vegetation often represents the most risk averse financial return for the landholder or business. Vegetation projects help generate carbon credits by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it as carbon in the soil and vegetation biomass. This is achieved by maintaining forest areas, regenerating areas with forest growth potential, and altering the suppression mechanisms preventing their growth before project implementation.
Vegetation Carbon Methodologies
Sequestration and Emissions Avoidance
To become eligible for a vegetation project, a change of management is required, referred to as the additionality requirement. Some examples of management changes could include (but not limited to) the following:
- Rotational/planned grazing (destocking/restocking)
- Resting paddocks for given lengths of time
- Fire management improvement
- Improved fencing infrastructure (such as kangaroo fencing/increased pest management)
- Improved protection of biodiversity and areas of high ecological value.
Some examples of vegetation project methods could include:
- Reforestation
- Revegetation/planting
- Protecting native forest at risk of clearing (avoided deforestation).
Please note that there are many various methods that will impact your eligibility for a vegetation carbon project and it is recommended you engage a carbon farming professional to undertake an assessment for further eligibility analysis.
Savannah Fire Management Methodology
Sequestration and Emissions Avoidance
The 2019/2020 Australian bushfires helped industry and communities understand the significant risk that vegetation and fire mismanagement has on greenhouse gas emissions and agriculture. Carbon emissions produced from fires can either be avoided or sequestered through more effective fire management strategies, ultimately accumulating/accruing carbon credits. This is undertaken through the Australian Government’s ACCU Scheme.
To begin, a baseline assessment will be required, which will assess previous fire management history, and subsequent emissions caused.
For project eligibility, a change of fire management is required which aims to improve upon existing practises, ultimately reducing carbon emissions against the business as usual scenario. The project will also need to meet the total annual rainfall requirements outlined in the methodology.
The change of management required will consider the ecological health of the land, agricultural productivity and relevant or local indigenous/cultural knowledge of fire practice.
Some examples of management change on a project could include:
- Cool burns within the specified time frame (winter months)
- Mosaic burning patterns
- Annual burning regimes (planned for best environmental and agricultural outcome)
Please note that to be eligible for this methodology the project will need to meet the annual total rainfall requirements outlined (methodology applies for northern parts of Australia).
Herd Management Methodology
Emissions Avoidance
Methane emissions can be reduced in livestock through more effective livestock management. Carbon credits are produced when a reduction has been achieved.
A baseline assessment which includes 7 years of records will need to be undertaken on your property herd or project to understand your current annual emissions.
To accumulate carbon credits, you will need to implement management changes, including:
- Reduced average herd age
- Planning for earlier selling of livestock through the ‘quickening’ of herd maturity
- Reduced proportion of unproductive animals in the herd
- Adding feed additives into livestock diet (such as the asparagopsis seaweed supplement)
Soil Carbon Methodology
To implement a soil carbon project, you will require a baseline assessment to be undertaken on the proposed project. This requires strategic soil tests to be taken throughout the eligible project area.
The total carbon in the soil at that given time will need to be increased over the length of the project in order to generate carbon credits. This can be achieved in a number of different ways.
After the change of management is implemented, the soil will be tested periodically over the life of the project to measure any increases in carbon.
For eligibility requirements, a change of management is required from the start of the project which aim to increase the soil carbon per hectare rate. Some of these change of management methods include:
- Rotational and cover cropping
- Multi species pasture cropping
- Biochar application
- Regenerative/rotational grazing
- Resting land for recovery
- Leucana planting.
Biochar Methodology
Biochar is often referred to as ‘charcoal’ resulting from pyrolosis, a process that involves the burning of waste biomass such as vegetation or saw dust. It is often used as an organic mulch for soil.
According to peer reviewed literature, the application of biochar in soil can improve soil carbon levels up to 20%, mainly from the increase in soil nutrients and water retention capacity. In addition, it can boost crop yields by up to 42% and reduce the heavy metals in plant tissues by 39%.
While the Australian ACCU Scheme does not currently recognise biochar as a methodology, the Verified Carbon Standard (Verra) recognises the method under VM0044. This methodology involves allowing landholders and businesses to accrue carbon credits through the application of biochar to soil.
Blue Carbon Methodology
Blue Carbon represents a significant opportunity for carbon sequestration. Under the Verified Carbon Standard, carbon credits can now be generated through the ecological restoration of mangroves and other eligible marine ecosystems (for example salt marshes and seagrasses).
Other blue carbon methods such as growing seaweed may become relevant in the future, however there is no current methodology under the national or international standards that allow for this at this stage.
This methodology aims to reduce emissions through avoided deforestation and forest degradation management strategies.
It is applicable to the following areas that would either be deforested or degraded:
- Forest lands
- Forested wetlands
- Forested peatlands
- Tidal wetlands
The methodology also includes eligibility for projects that include forest regeneration or rehabilitation for tidal wetlands or peatlands.
