CO2 Australia - Bendena Human-Induced Regeneration.

Native Vegetation Asset Account.

Environmental Account: AU00002
Environmental Asset: Native Vegetation
Asset Account ID: AU00002V1
Registration date: 26 October 2020
Certification date: 1 December 2022
Certification level: Independent Audit
Purpose: Monitor and track improvement in biodiversity co-benefits
Current land use: Cattle grazing
Area: 19,713 ha
Method: AfN-METHOD-NV-02

Technical Report

Asset Account snapshot.

Asset summary - baseline.

Asset statement.

26 October 2020 - Registration date
17 November 2022 - Annual Certification Compliance Report (ACCR) -
Site based inspections conducted by CO2 Australia in April and September 2022. No material changes were identified.
1 December 2022 - Certification date
29 January - Annual Certification Compliance Report (ACCR) -
No significant event or material change in land use was reported or identified.

Significant outcomes.

This Account represents the baseline environmental account for the Bendena Human-Induced Regeneration Project. The results of the baseline Native Vegetation Econd® assessment demonstrate that species richness of most strata are approaching benchmark values. The species richness attribute the furthest from benchmark condition is grass species richness, however it is anticipated that in these mulga-dominated communities, this attribute will continue to increase with an increase in canopy cover.

Limitations & disclosures.

Composition (species richness) - Potential for false negatives in species richness assessments, referring to the potential for missing species (often cryptic) that were actually present but not encountered. Implication is to underrepresent the species richness attributes contributing to the Species Richness (composition) indicator.

Control to minimise identified limitation - The Native Vegetation Method outlines the recommended survey time to maximise opportunities to identify/differentiate flowering plants. Field-based assessments were undertaken during October 2020, consistent with the Native Vegetation Method, with greater than-average rainfall in the preceding two months likely to represent favourable conditions for field-based measurements.

Vegetation configuration - Potential subjectivity afforded by the manual designation of areas as remnant (intact) vegetation and native regrowth vegetation.

Control to minimise identified limitation - The mapping of vegetation configuration categories (remnant and regrowth vegetation) was undertaken combining the interrogation of Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, Queensland Government RVMM, aerial imagery and field-based assessment to confirm the composition of vegetated areas within 1 km of each of the Econd sites.