RESILIENT LANDSCAPES

PRIORITY LR2

Increasing carbon storage in the region

Fostering the adoption of practice changes which give rise to increased carbon storage across productive farmland of the Cradle Coast region is key to maintaining and increasing the prosperity of Tasmanian agriculture. While sequestering greater amounts of carbon in production agriculture itself now provides an income stream, many practice changes which will assist in achieving this may also mitigate the effects of a changing climate on farm viability. Careful consideration of inputs, appropriate science-based use of irrigation, incorporating greater species diversity into pasture composition, reduced tillage operations and greater uptake of seasonal cover crops to replace bare fallow periods are all practices which will lead to greater biological activity within the soil and increase soil carbon levels. Restoring degraded riparian zones and increasing the uptake of farm shelterbelt plantings have the potential to store carbon for the long term, as well as providing benefits to farm production and local native species.

outcome

By 2030, eight reforestation and/or carbon storage projects have been completed across the region, resulting in increased calculated and certified carbon draw-down, and increasing available habitat for biodiversity.

threats

Local threats that can be addressed by NRM actions:

  • Loss of biodiversity
  • Market shifts
  • Land use change and intensification
  • Missed opportunities for carbon storage and ecological restoration projects in the region

Actions

LR2.a

Improve land managers’ knowledge of emerging carbon markets and support them to participate. Support improved planning, implementation, and evaluation of carbon storage projects in the region.

implementation

Investment Opportunity

  • Australian Government
  • Tasmanian Government
  • Regional or Local
  • Private or philanthropic

  • Information gathering activities including a review of opportunities for carbon storage projects in the region.
  • Policy and planning activities including foundational spatial work to assess suitable sites and farm businesses and assess the level of interest in the community. Foundational work to develop  monitoring methods.
  • On-ground works including ecological restoration, farm forestry, shelterbelt, habitat corridors and permanent carbon storage options.
  • Behaviour-change and capacity-building activities such as BMP education and support, PMP
    facilitation, extension to landholders and communities focused on climate change awareness,
    threat mitigation, sustainability education.

Landholders; industry bodies; agri-service providers; carbon aggregators; councils; community groups; State and Australian Government; Private Forests Tasmania.

Engagement with landholders including through the development of extension and education materials and website resources; field days and public events; opportunities for the community to get involved with revegetation projects; potential for citizen science in monitoring biodiversity and tree growth.