Native Vegetation

With uncertainty about the operation of and commitment to carbon markets, it is challenging to understand and compare the commercial benefits of investments in revegetation for carbon in our region compared to other agricultural ventures. Past research has indicated that there is little profitability potential from carbon forests in the Murray Darling Basin under a range of scenarios. This may be the case in most of the Wimmera, although some areas in the south and south-west of the region, with higher rainfall, may have potential. These geographical areas need to be carefully managed to ensure that other values are not impacted such as ground water aquifers and surface water resources. Recent work, conducted by Greening Australia and Alcoa, consisted of direct measurements in the field to compare actual carbon capture rates with modeling estimates generated from the Australian Government’s Reforestation Modeling Tool (RMT). In some cases, in the Wimmera, the field measurements are providing significantly greater carbon volumes than the RMT, particularly in the south. In the north of the region, they are comparable. This data provides a useful indicator that there may be high yielding locations in the region and that further peer review and research should be conducted to provide more comprehensive information.