Climate Caf Carbon Farming vs Biodiversity - Can we do both? David - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Climate Café Carbon Farming vs Biodiversity - Can we do both? David Freudenberger, Fenner School of Environment and Society Australian National University 1

Principles of ‘Carbon Farming’ – a mitigation strategy Deforestation Adapted from Dr Heather Keith, Fenner 2

Global carbon cycle Finite capacity From: Mackey, B, Prentice, I, Steffen, W, Keith H, Berry S (2013) Nature Climate Change , vol. 3, pp. 552-557. 3

Options to replenish the Cleared Living Land Carbon Stock Fossil Avoid deforestation – ‘a given’ (but difficult) A. Avoid native forest harvesting B. More Plantations ( fastwood ) C. Ecological restoration (‘biodiverse carbon’) 4

Option A. Cease harvesting native forests From: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-27/neville-smith-forest-products-warning-tasmanian-forest-wars/8307064 5

Option A. Cease harvesting native forests – Theoretical carbon gain 500 -1 ) Total biomass carbon stock (tC ha Potential 400 Carbon gain 300 Regrowth carbon stock 200 100 harvest 0 0 100 200 300 Stand age (years) Clear fell From: Keith, H, Lindenmayer, D, Mackey, B et al 2014, Ecosphere, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 1-34 6

Long-term carbon dynamics in a harvested Mountain Ash forest 1200 Biomass carbon stock (tC ha -1 ) 1000 wildfire regrowth forest 800 harvested forest 600 living biomass 400 coarse woody debris products 200 landfill 0 -10 40 90 140 190 240 Time (years) From: Keith, H, Lindenmayer, D, Mackey, B et al 2014, Ecosphere, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 1-34 7

Transfer of TOTAL carbon stocks in a harvested Mountain Ash forest Longevity of products 1.2 1.2% in landfill ~350 yrs % 4% sawn timber 30-90 yrs products 20% paper 1-3 yrs products 16% processing waste <1 yrs 30% waste left on-site ~50 yrs 30% slash burnt <1 yrs From:Keith H, Lindenmayer D, Macintosh A, Mackey B. 2015. PLoS doi: 10.1371

Option B. More Plantations ( fastwood crop) 9

Above-biomass of Victorian Pine plantations Average harvest age From: Gierson, P.F., Adams, M.A. and Attiwil, P. M (1992) Australian J. Botany 40, 631 10

Option C. Ecological restoration – Biodiverse Carbon (Case study: voluntary carbon offset – Greenhouse Friendly Program ) Photos sequence from P101b 2008 2010 2013 2011 2012 2017 Degraded, Restored?, Dysfunctional, Functional? Biologically simple Biologically diverse? Project description: J. Jonson 2010 Ecological Management & Restoration 11 : 16 – 26 Photo credit: Freudenberger 11

Biodiverse carbon Case Study - 12

‘ Peniup ’ Greening Australia Ltd ( eNGO) 13

Greening Australia’s Peniup Property ~ 1200 ha 3 km 14

‘ Peniup ’ Greening Australia Ltd ( eNGO) Plot 136, April 2015

Monitored since 2009 Thanks Ellen, Cleo and Rowan! (April 2015 ) 16

October 2008

P103b: Peniup photo monitoring point, 34.08567, 118.8611 (WGS84) Planted July 2008, see J. Jonson 2010 Ecological Management & Restoration 11 : 16 – 26 April 2010 May 2012 April 2011 April 2013

P103b: Peniup photo monitoring point, 34.08567, 118.8611 (WGS84) Planted July 2008, see J. Jonson 2010 Ecological Management & Restoration 11 : 16 – 26 April 2014 April 2017

Colourful Biodiverse Carbon = dozens of locally native species (in perpetuity?)

Discussion questions 1. What do you see as the trade-offs between these three possible forms* of carbon farming? 2. Should a price on carbon be incentivising all, none or some of these? 3. What proportion (cents in the dollar) of any funding should go towards carbon farming vs other mitigation strategies? * avoided harvesting, plantations, ecological restoration 21

Additional Slides for elaboration 22

Challenges of Biodiverse Carbon Photos sequence from P101b 2008 2010 2013 2011 2012 2017 23

Peniup carbon – spatially variable after 5 years E. occidentalis Perring, M., Jonson, J., Freudenberger, D ., Parsons, R. Rooney, M., Hobbs, R., Standish, R.J. (2015) Forest Ecology and Management 344 , 53-62. 24

Results: Outcomes on the ground @ $1000-1500/ha? • Biodiverse Carbon?? Species Sown richness Vegetation and 2014 Association planted % species 2008 established Light Yate 13.3 (0.8) 31 + 1 42.9 Sandy Yate 7.3 (2.4) 25 + 1 29.2 Upland Yate 8.0 (1.4) 25 + 1 32.0 Sandy Gravel 9.4 (0.75) 25 + 0 37.6 Duplex 9.3 (0.95) 49 + 0 19.0 Pallid Clay 7.0 (1.03) 39 + 0 17.9 Gully 7.7 (1.3) 22 + 1 35.0 8.9 30.5 Mean 9.3 STD Perring et al. (2015) Soil-vegetation type, stem density and species richness influence biomass of restored woodland in south-western Australia. Forest Ecology and Management 344, 53-62.

P102d: Peniup photo monitoring point, 34.09121, 118.8584 (WGS84) Planted July 2008, see J. Jonson 2010 Ecological Management & Restoration 11 : 16 – 26 April 2010 May 2012 April 2013 April 2011

P102d: Peniup photo monitoring point, 34.09121, 118.8584 (WGS84) Planted July 2008, see J. Jonson 2010 Ecological Management & Restoration 11 : 16 – 26 April 2017 Seed capsules – indicator self-sustaining system?

P101a: Peniup photo monitoring point, 34.08997, 118.8602 (WGS84) Planted July 2008, see J. Jonson 2010 Ecological Management & Restoration 11 : 16 – 26 April 2010 May 2012 April 2011 Note, zoomed in rather than wide angle April 2013 Bare soil

P101a: Peniup photo monitoring point, 34.08997, 118.8602 (WGS84) Planted July 2008, see J. Jonson 2010 Ecological Management & Restoration 11 : 16 – 26 April 2015 April 2014 ‘Litter’ accumulation April 2016 April 2017

Compared to ‘Reference’ Site conditions

Foliose Lichen: sign of low disturbance (Reference Conditions)

September 2011 Seeded August 2009 GA’s ‘ Nurcong ’ Property: Western Victoria, Biodiverse Carbon September 2012 www.greeningaustralia.org.au

Challenges, Opportunities, Trade-offs • Plantations

Fenner School’s Nanangroe project

Overview of the Nanangroe research project Key features: 16 years 131 sites 300 Km 2

Winners and losers Colonization probability Control – pasture matrix Pine matrix Year Colonization probability Pines Pasture Year

The matrix matters • OUTSIDE matrix influences populations WITHIN the habitat patches • 90% of the bird species were s affected by pine plantations (N=64 species) • ~ 50% positively • ~ 50% negatively Mortelliti, A. and Lindenmayer, D. B. (2015), Effects of landscape transformation on bird colonization and extinction patterns in a large-scale, long-term natural experiment. Conservation Biology, 29: 1314 – 1326. doi:10.1111/cobi.12523

Plantation reversions back to leaky agriculture

12,800 ha net Decrease 39

References Mortelliti, A. and Lindenmayer, D. B. (2015), Effects of landscape transformation on bird colonization and extinction patterns in a large-scale, long-term natural experiment. Conservation Biology, 29: 1314 – 1326. doi:10.1111/cobi.12523 Keith H, Lindenmayer D, Macintosh A, Mackey B. 2015. Under what circumstances do wood products from native forests benefit climate change mitigation ? PLoS doi: 10.1371 Keith, H, Lindenmayer, D, Mackey, B et al 2014, 'Accounting for biomass carbon stock change due to wildfire in temperate forest landscapes in Australia', PL OS ONE (Public Library of Science), vol. 9, no. 9, pp. e107126. Keith, H, Lindenmayer, D, Mackey, B et al 2014, 'Managing temperate forests for carbon storage: impacts of logging versus forest protection on carbon stocks', Ecosphere , vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 1-34. Mackey, B, Prentice, I, Steffen, W, Keith H, Berry S 2013, 'Untangling the confusion around land carbon science and climate change mitigation policy', Nature Climate Change, vol. 3, pp. 552-557. Keith, H, Mackey, B & Lindenmayer, D 2009, 'Re-evaluation of forest biomass carbon stocks and lessons from the world's most carbon-dense forests', PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 106, no. 28, pp. 11635-11640. Perring, M., Jonson, J., Freudenberger, D ., Parsons, R. Rooney, M., Hobbs, R., Standish, R.J. (2015) Soil-vegetation type, stem density and species richness influence biomass of restored woodland in south-western Australia. Forest Ecology and Management 344 , 53-62.