Landholders / Benefits
Key benefits for landholders of the “Soil Enhancement and Carbon Sequestration Program” include:
- Greater water retention in soils resulting in reduced need for irrigation. Indications are that a 1% increase in carbon in the soil equates to an additional 8 inches of rainfall per annum;
- Improved water quality in river catchments due to reduced chemical fertiliser/nutrient run off;
- Cost savings and greater efficiencies in chemical fertiliser/nutrient use and transfer to plants and animals;
- Improved buffers against disease outbreaks in plants;
- Improved sustainable land productivity;
- Financial benefits obtained from the carbon credits.
Importantly, the "Soil Enhancement and Carbon Sequestration Program” poses no restriction on the use of the land.
The use of the Prime Carbon program on parkland has meant that our irrigation costs and the need for irrigation have been cut in half. For us this benefit alone justifies participation in the program.
Tristram Denyer – Operations Co-ordinator Parks, Townsville City Council