Vegetation offers many benefits for farms. Hosting a mixture of native and local trees, shrubs, and groundcovers on farmland can improve resilience and productivity by:
- improving soil health and preventing erosion
- offering protection for crops and pastures and shelter for livestock
- reducing climate impacts on your land
- improving water quality
- lowering farm emissions by increasing carbon sequestration
- offering diversified income streams by registering eligible activities through the Nature Repair Market or Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) Scheme
- strengthening local biodiversity to help crop and pasture resilience to pests and diseases, support pollinators and reduce dependency on pesticides.
What you can do
The two main activities you can do on your farm are:
- protecting existing vegetation
- establishing new vegetation.
Protect existing vegetation
Ways to protect existing vegetation to promote emissions reduction include:
- fence vegetation areas to control livestock access
- rest paddocks to allow trees to recover and regenerate
- avoid clearing existing vegetation on your farm
- plan with existing vegetation in mind when constructing new fences or roads
- protect vegetation from spray drift, fertiliser and fire
- apply appropriate weed control treatments to support native vegetation and wildlife species.
Learn more about protecting existing vegetation (Sustainable Farms).
Establish new vegetation
You can establish new vegetation on your land by:
- integrating vegetation with crops, pastures and/or livestock using shelterbelts or woodlots
- establishing environmental plantings or plantation forests on previously cleared land
- establish vegetation corridors along creeks and rivers (riparian zones)
- conducting forest regeneration activities, including the removal of livestock, feral animals, and non-native plant species.
If you’re thinking about establishing new vegetation, you need to consider whether:
- the species are suited to the local climate and soil type
- the planting will be permanent or for the purpose of harvesting wood products
- there is enough water availability
- you want to register the planting with an environmental market.
Learn more about establishing and restoring vegetation (NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust) and native vegetation and habitat on your farm (Murrumbidgee Landcare Inc).
Register vegetation projects with environmental markets
If you are managing existing vegetation or looking to establish a new vegetation project, you might be eligible to register a project with an environmental market.
The Australian Government runs two markets you may wish to consider:
- the biodiversity market, known as the Nature Repair Market Scheme
- the carbon market, known as the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme.
Before participating in a scheme, it’s important to think about whether it suits your goals and situation. Every farm and business are different, so what works for one may not work for another.
For information on what vegetation activities qualify under these Schemes, visit the Clean Energy Regulator:
Resources to help you protect and establish vegetation
Explore further key resources on protecting and establishing vegetation.
State and territory resources:
- New South Wales: Native vegetation
- Northern Territory: Native Vegetation
- South Australia: Native Vegetation
- Victoria: Native pasture management
See more
Learn more about protecting and establishing vegetation.
- DAFF: Learn more about vegetation.
- Agriculture Victoria: Learn more about shelter belts and wildlife.
- Landcare Australia: Environmental Plantings Toolkit for Landholders.
- Meat & Livestock Australia: Learn more about biodiversity and vegetation.
- NRM Regions Australia: Explore resources on nature and biodiversity.
- Sustainable Farms: Learn more about improving natural assets on farms.