Carbon farming and natural resource management in eastern Australia


This report reviews some of the potential landscape changes that carbon farming may bring to eastern Australia, focusing on six natural resource management regions. Three are Queensland NRM bodies (Fitzroy Basin Association, Burnett Mary Regional Group and South-east Queensland Catchments) and three are Local Land Service regions in New South Wales (North Coast, Hunter and Greater Sydney).

Carbon farming in Australia revolves around the Carbon Farming Initiative/Emissions Reduction Fund (CFI/ERF) regulatory framework administered by the Commonwealth Government. There are also several international ‘voluntary’ markets.

In this report we provide an economic analysis which aims to estimate the order of magnitude of carbon farming activity that may potentially occur and to identify where, at regional scale, the most prospective locations for the various carbon farming activities may be assessed.

Particular attention is given to vegetation based activities, such as reforestation using regrowth or plantings, because they are relatively high profile “headline” activities that may cause landscape-scale changes in natural resources and their management in eastern Australia.

We also review the potential co-benefits and dis-benefits to ecosystem function likely to occur through landscape-scale vegetation change, brought about by vegetation-based carbon farming.

Spatial data are provided additionally for the price to break even for planting and regrowth carbon farming activities, for 100 year permanence over a 25 year commitment period, as well as the re-vegetation benefit metric, as outlined in the report.


Categorization



Metadata


Detailed Descriptions
Report, Dataset
https://publications.qld.gov.au/ca/dataset/7e0574ef-85d8-4f42-b357-0919230541a7/resource/f1fb45b9-3389-444e-9e24-62f11472f7a3/download/eastaustcarbonfarming.pdf
050104 - Landscape Ecology, 050101 - Ecological Impacts of Climate Change, 040104 - Climate Change Processes
Butler, D.W., and Halford, J.J. (2015) Opportunities for greenhouse benefits from land use change in Queensland. Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation, Brisbane. Available at: https://publications.qld.gov.au/ca/dataset/7e0574ef-85d8-4f42-b357-0919230541a7/resource/589c20a6-c547-480b-83e0-7be20085a075/download/landsectorcarbonanalysis.pdf Evans, M.C., Cardwine, J., Fensham, R.J., Butler, D.W., Wilson, K.A., Possingham, H.P., and Martin, T.G. (2015) Carbon farming via assisted natural regeneration as a cost-effective mechanism for restoring biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Environmental Science and Policy 50: 114-129. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2015.02.003
Geographic and Temporal Extents
Muswellbrook (A), Brisbane (C), Somerset (R), Hurstville (C), Lake Macquarie (C), Scenic Rim (R), Woorabinda (S), Gympie (R), Gosford (C), Sunshine Coast (R), Nambucca (A), Sutherland Shire (A), Woollahra (A), Bundaberg (R), Hunters Hill (A), Leichhardt (A), Isaac (R), Manly (A), Canada Bay (A), Ku-ring-gai (A), Clarence Valley (A), Wyong (A), Auburn (C), Cherbourg (S), Lockyer Valley (R), Richmond Valley (A), Bankstown (C), Gladstone (R), Byron (A), Great Lakes (A), Ballina (A), Logan (C), Ipswich (C), Hawkesbury (C), Toowoomba (R), North Burnett (R), Cessnock (C), Gold Coast (C), Botany Bay (C), Canterbury (C), Ashfield (A), Holroyd (C), Parramatta (C), Gloucester (A), Kogarah (C), Ryde (C), Randwick (C), Moreton Bay (R), Marrickville (A), Lane Cove (A), Pittwater (A), Strathfield (A), Port Stephens (A), Redland (C), Central Highlands (M), Blue Mountains (C), Maitland (C), The Hills Shire (A), Camden (A), Sydney (C), Rockdale (C), Rockhampton (R), North Sydney (A), Waverley (A), Dungog (A), Wollondilly (A), Fairfield (C), Newcastle (C), Willoughby (C), Coffs Harbour (C), Bellingen (A), Kempsey (A), Kyogle (A), South Burnett (R), Liverpool (C), Upper Hunter Shire (A), Tweed (A), Warringah (A), Penrith (C), Port Macquarie-Hastings (A), Lismore (C), Banana (S), Singleton (A), Mosman (A), Campbelltown (C), Hornsby (A), Greater Taree (C), Blacktown (C), Fraser Coast (R), Burwood (A)
Burnett Mary, Fitzroy, Hunter, South East Queensland, Northern Rivers, Greater Sydney
NSW North Coast, South Eastern Queensland, Nandewar, New England Tablelands, Brigalow Belt North, Central Mackay Coast, Brigalow Belt South, Sydney Basin
Start 2014/07/01 Start text End 2014/11/31 End text
Attributions and Constraints
Queensland Government
Don Butler, Jason Halford, Megan Evans
Butler, D.W., Halford. J.J., and Evans, M.C. 2014. Carbon farming and natural resource management in eastern Australia. Queensland Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, Brisbane.
Don Butler Queensland Herbarium, Department of Science, Information, Technology and Innovation 07 3896 9465 Don.Butler@dsiti.qld.gov.au