Breaking New Ground: 36 trees/ha planting site registered in the ETS
Blog post.
Tom Mackay-Smith and Raphael Spiekermann
7/1/20252 min read
Earlier this year, we applied to join the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for one of our planting sites.
Our aim was to show that planting native trees with fewer than 40 trees per hectare can still meet the 30% canopy cover ETS rules.
The current rules say each tree is assumed to have a 4 m radius to measure canopy cover. This means you would need more than 60 trees per hectare to get 30% canopy cover.
But in real life, kānuka trees grow much bigger than a 4 m radius when widely spaced. We provided evidence that each tree should use a 5.5 m radius. Using this radius, our planting of 36 trees per hectare gives a 33.5% canopy cover, which is above the minimum needed.
We gave a lot of evidence, and after reviewing the application, we’re pleased to share that the application was APPROVED.
This outcome not only validates the viability of sequestering carbon in low density native silvopastoral systems, but also shows how evidence-based data can help overcome the MPI rules!
Update on our MBIE application
We are very happy to share that our MBIE research proposal — “Transforming New Zealand’s red meat productivity using native silvopastoral design” — has passed the first stage of review (Science Excellence).
In this first stage, MBIE looked at how strong our research plan is and whether our team has the right skills.
Next, we move to the Impact stage. Here, MBIE will look at how our work could help the economy, the environment, and local communities.
Photo (s) of the Month
For the past two months we have been hard at work counting the roots of kānuka, tōtara and poplar for a project with Auckland Council!!
We will share more details of this project in the next newsletter.
