Sixteen per cent of Australia’s emissions are from land use change, forestry and agriculture. Most is produced from ruminants; the remainder from various sources including rice growing.
The issue of carbon in this sector needs to be addressed in tandem with broader issues such as land use efficiency and land use competition for different purposes and products.
Pressing questions include: What products/food stuffs should we prioritise for our land? How do we provide ecological restoration? Should we convert periforest agricultural land to ecological vegetation classes that bolster and buffer native forests? How much biomass be used as a sustainable energy source without competing against food production?
Importantly, the final vision is that human land use practices will be net sinks and stores of atmospheric carbon. The Land Use Plan will provide a comprehensive look at the way Australia can manage its productive capacity, ecological heritage and ecosystems services for the future.
