Stems for CO2 program 2024
Three Tasmanian farmers are taking part in a new project to establish commercial tree plantings on farms and demonstrate the carbon sequestration potential for their specific location and planting.
The Private Forests Tasmania Stems for CO2 project, supported by the State Government's Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania, has awarded $442,000 of grant funding for farmers to integrate trees into their agricultural operations.
The project will see 273 hectares of commercial trees planted across three properties to sequester carbon, while generating on-farm commercial and environmental benefits.
Much of the planning and on-farm work is being supported by forestry contractors and carbon management companies to maximise the benefits for the participating farmers. Private Forests Tasmania will be working alongside the farmers to communicate progress and share insights about the projects.
The initiative will demonstrate the commercial and environmental benefits of the plantings, to encourage more landowners to integrate trees into their business enterprise.
Dougal Morrison
An Cala is an 8,000-hectare family-run farm in Oatlands. Fifth-generation farm manager Dougal Morrison is using his new plantings to diversify farm income.
Under the project, Dougal will plant more than 160,000 seedlings. This will comprise of 152ha as part of a second rotation once an E.nitens plantation is harvested, as well as a new 4ha shelterbelt.
Dougal sees forestry as a vital part of his mission to improve the farm's landscape and operations.
'Our plans are about getting the best return on that land, and commercial timber and carbon plantations offer us a worthwhile reward for effort', says Dougal.
'We weighed up whether to convert the land back to agricultural grazing or put it back into trees. But with the carbon project, the numbers came out in front.
'Forestry helps us diversity our risk through another income stream.
'It also gives us the option to offset the carbon footprint of some of our other commodities by meeting certain environmental wool and meat market certification benchmarks'.
Dougal's project will sequester
94,280 tonnes of CO2e across 27 years in the first rotation.
That's enough to offset annual emissions from
20,648 cars or 5,427 homes.
Julian Devery
Julian is a hobby farmer with a 21-hectare property in Tasmania's northwest. The Stems for CO2 project will add sweet chestnut plantations to existing oak plantations, which are under grazed by sheep.
As well as carbon abatement, the project will bring agricultural benefits, specialty timber harvest and tourism benefits for Julian's farm.
'Unlike pretty much any other tree, once you harvest the timber of chestnut trees, they can be coppiced at ground level,' says Julian.
'The tree regrows itself, restarting the whole timber production and carbon capture-cycle without having to deal with tree stumps or replanting.'
Julian is also looking forward to the operational and commercial opportunities the plantations can bring. Chestnut wood is used in many parts of the world for fencing, construction material, barrels and furniture.
'The oak plantation already provides superior sheep grazing conditions compared to open paddocks, and this should also apply to the new plantings.
'And chestnut plantations are picturesque so we're planning to put in some tourist farm-stay accommodation. People could even get married here.'
Julian's project will sequester
9,167 tonnes
of CO2e across 25 years on the first rotation.
That's enough to offset annual emissions from
1,993 cars or 524 homes.
Alison Napier
Alison manages land across four farms in Tasmania's Fingal Valley. She is establishing 104 hectares as part of the Stems for CO2 project. This comprises of radiata pine plantation and strategically placed shelterbelts.
Alison will calculate the amount of CO2 being sequestered from the plantations which will contribute to estimating her operation's carbon footprint. The trees will help balance total farm emissions.
'It's important for our beef enterprise to grow trees to offset our farm's emissions', says Alison.
'Carbon-neutral farming is increasingly important to consumers, and food wholesalers are willing to pay a premium for it.'
Alison is also looking forward to the co-benefits of the plantations for her operations.
'We are looking to protect some of our cattle yards as they are very exposed', says Alison, 'to have shelterbelts will be appreciated by my staff and cattle.
'Being able to incorporate them into a forestry project is really valuable - it diversifies the business, makes the best use of the land and provides many benefits.'
Alison's project will sequester
44,159 tonnes
of CO2e across 27 years in the first rotation.
That's enough to offset annual emissions from
9,600 cars on 2,525 homes.
How much carbon?
A full carbon accounting model can estimate the total tonnes of CO2e stored and released throughout the life of each of the Stems for CO2 project's forest sites.
Factors such as location, climate and future management plan for each site were used to predict how each forest would grow and how much carbon and nitrogen would be captured and released.
Here's what we found:
As trees grow, they absorb carbon and store it in its branches, stems, leaves and roots. This happens at different rates during a tree's life cycle. Younger trees sequester more carbon as they reach maturity, before slowing down later in their life cycle.
When a tree is harvested, a proportion of the carbon remains in the timber and is locked away in forest products - from timber cabinetry to floorboards. Carbon is released only when these products decay or are burnt.
Carbon can also be released by forest debris such as dead leaves or wood falling on the ground decaying over time.
When a forest is thinned, the total amount of carbon stored in the forest decreases temporarily. But over time, this reverses as the remaining trees grow bigger, causing the 'sawtooth' pattern shown in the graph below. The same happens at the final harvest of the forest, but over time this too reverses as a new forest is planted and grows.
The longer a forest continues to be harvested and replanted over multiple rotations, the more carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and stored in timber products, reducing the effects of climate change.
Learn more about the carbon benefits of trees
