Turn the raw legal text into a practical explanation grounded in Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative—Reforestation and Afforestation 2.0) Methodology Determination 2015.
Act means the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011.
actual location coordinates means spatial coordinates that are collected on the ground using a global positioning system, and that define the location of plots, biomass sample plots and biomass sample trees.
actual plot size means the area of a plot as physically measured on the ground.
allometric data range means the range between the smallest and largest predictor measures included within an allometric dataset.
allometric dataset means predictor measures and biomass measurements recorded from biomass sample trees that are used to develop an allometric function.
allometric domain means the specific conditions under which an allometric function is applicable.
allometric function means a species‑specific regression function fitted to a scatter of data‑points that relates predictor measures collected through a non‑destructive measurement process to a measure of the weight of biomass within a project tree, and includes stratum specific and regional functions.
allometric report means a document that describes a project proponent’s approach to the development of allometric functions, including descriptions of allometric data, allometric domain, regression fitting processes and outcomes of checks against regression fit requirements.
belt plantings means discrete patches of project trees that have been established in a linear or curvilinear ‘belt’ pattern where width measured across the belt is no wider than 50 metres.
biomass means vegetation‑derived organic matter.
biomass component of a tree means a component according to a categorisation that divides its elements into at least:
(a) the following above‑ground components:
(i) stem;
(ii) branches;
(iii) crown;
(iv) dead material, including dead branches, dead stem and dead crown, attached to the biomass sample tree; and
(b) the following below‑ground components:
(i) tap root or lignotuber;
(ii) the lateral roots.
biomass sample plot means an area of land that occurs within a biomass sample site and is delineated in accordance with Part 4.
biomass sample site means an area of land in which biomass sample plots are randomly located and biomass sample trees are randomly selected, for the purposes of developing a regional function.
biomass sample tree means a tree selected for destructive sampling in order to develop, update or extend an allometric function.
branches means the hard, woody above‑ground support elements of a tree that are connected to the stem, support the crown, and have a distinct, thick bark layer.
block plantings means discrete patches of project trees that have been established so the average minimum width is greater than 50 metres.
bulked sample means a sample of litter collected through combining 4 smaller samples into a single sample.
carbon fraction means the proportion, by weight, of dry organic matter that is composed of carbon.
carbon stock means the quantity of carbon, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent, held within project forest biomass.
centroid option means a plot established so that the actual location coordinates are located at the centre of the plot.
CFI function means a stratum‑specific or regional function that was developed in compliance with a CFI methodology determination (whether or not the determination has since ceased to be in force).
CFI Mapping Guidelines means the guidelines known as the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) Mapping Guidelines, as published from time to time, to be used for mapping project areas and strata within project areas, and available on the Department’s website.
closing carbon stock means the quantity of carbon, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent, estimated to be held within the project forest biomass occurring within a stratum at the end of a reporting period.
consistent edge option means a plot established so that:
(a) the starting edge passes through the actual location coordinates and is aligned perpendicular to the orientation of the edges of a belt planting; and
(b) if a belt planting has:
(i) an east‑west orientation—the plot is laid out toward the most westerly end of the belt planting; or
(ii) an orientation other than east‑west—the plot is laid out toward the most southerly end of the belt planting; and
(c) the plot extends across the full width of the belt planting.
constant position option means a plot established so that the actual location coordinates are located at the same relative position on the plots, for example, the most southern and eastern corner.
crown means non‑woody, above‑ground tree structures that include twigs, petioles, and leaves, and that are involved in photosynthesis or supporting photosynthetic structures.
crown cover means the amount of land covered by the outer limits of the crown (viewed as a horizontal cross‑section) of a tree, or collection of trees.
crown radius, for a stratum, means:
(a) if an average expected radius of a fully mature project tree in the stratum can be reliably estimated—that radius; and
(b) otherwise—2 metres.
dead standing fire affected tree means a dead tree that shows obvious signs of having been affected by fire and that remains in an upright position.
dead standing tree means a dead tree that shows no signs of having been affected by fire and which remains in an upright position.
declaration date for a project, means the date on which the declaration of the project as an eligible offsets project under section 27 of the Act takes effect.
disturbance affected stratum means a stratum that has been subject to a growth disturbance event, other than fire—see section 19.
edge plot—see section 41.
eligible land—see subsection 10(2).
extant project forest boundary, of a stratum—see subsection 18(3).
fallen dead wood means dead woody stem and branch components that:
(a) have a cross‑sectional diameter of more than 2.5 centimetres; and
(b) are derived from a project tree; and
(c) occur at ground level.
fire affected stratum means a stratum that is so labelled under section 19 because it experienced a fire event that still affects it.
fire emissions means emissions of methane (CH4) or nitrous oxide (N2O) arising from fire events.
fire event means an occurrence of a fire in a stratum or strata.
forest means land of a minimum area of 0.2 of a hectare on which trees:
(a) have attained, or have the potential to attain, a crown cover of at least 20% across the area of land; and
(b) have reached, or have the potential to reach, a height of at least 2 metres.
forest cover—land has forest cover if:
(a) the land has an area of at least 0.2 of a hectare; and
(b) the vegetation on the land includes trees that:
(i) are 2 metres or more in height; and
(ii) provide crown cover of at least 20% of the land.
fuel emissions means emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), or methane (CH4) arising from fossil fuel use in relation to the delivery of project activities within the project area.
Note: This includes fuel use that takes place outside the project strata, but within the wider project area, if it relates to project activities.
full inventory means an estimation of carbon stock conducted in accordance with section 23.
Note: This is one of the 2 measurement processes available to a project proponent to estimate carbon stock within a stratum and involves the use of temporary sample plots and, optionally, permanent sample plots to estimate carbon stock. The other process is PSP assessment.
growth disturbance—see section 19.
initial carbon stock—see section 93.
intended location coordinates means spatial coordinates for a randomly selected intersection from a grid overlay used to define the proposed on‑ground location of plots and biomass sample plots.
lateral root means the woody material that extends laterally from a tree’s tap root or lignotuber, or both, and that forms part of a tree’s below‑ground structure.
litter means dead, project‑tree derived material that occurs at ground level and is less than 2.5 centimetres in diameter (such as leaves, twigs, bark and small woody stems in various stages of decomposition).
live fire affected tree means a tree that is living and showing obvious signs of having experienced a fire event, or for which records indicate that it has experienced a fire event.
live tree means a tree that is living, which shows no obvious physical signs of having experienced a fire event, and for which no records exist that indicate that it has been affected by a fire event.
native forest means an area of land that:
(a) is dominated by trees that:
(i) are located within their natural range; and
(ii) have attained, or have the potential to attain, a crown cover of at least 20% of the area of land; and
(iii) have reached, or have the potential to reach, a height of at least 2 metres; and
(b) is not a plantation.
newly fire affected stratum means a fire affected stratum that has not had the emissions from the relevant fire event included in abatement calculations for an offsets report.
non‑project forest means forest within the project area that was not established as a direct result of the project.
non‑project tree means a tree within the project area that was neither planted, nor otherwise established, as a direct result of the project.
ortho‑rectified aerial imagery means an aerial photograph or satellite image geometrically corrected for distortion to produce a uniform scale across the image.
permanent planting has the same meaning as in the Rule or the Regulations.
permanent planting project—see section 7.
planting means the planting of seedlings or the sowing of seed derived from trees.
plot means a temporary sample plot or a permanent sample plot.
plot layout option means any of the following:
(a) centroid option;
(b) consistent edge option;
(c) constant position option.
predictor measure means a measure of tree dimensions collected through a non‑destructive measurement process and referenced in an allometric function to estimate the biomass contained within trees.
preparation burn means the controlled application of fire within a stratum to assist in the removal or suppression of ground‑level vegetation or fire fuel loads.
prescribed weed means any plant that is required by law to be removed.
probable limit of error means the percentage error at the 90% confidence level.
project activity means an activity carried out within the project area as part of the establishment and management of project forest.
project emissions means emissions of greenhouse gases occurring within the project area as a result of a project activity, from the sources specified in section 84.
project forest means forest that has been established within the project area as a direct result of the project.
project forest biomass means the biomass contained within project trees, litter, or fallen dead wood.
project removals means removals from the atmosphere of greenhouse gases caused as a result of project activities.
project tree means a tree that has been established within a stratum through undertaking project activities.
pseudo-random number generator means computer software that:
(a) generates a sequence of numbers that approximates the properties of random numbers; and
(b) reports the seed number that was used to generate the sequence.
PSP (permanent sample plot) means an area of land that has been selected and established as a PSP in accordance with Subdivision 5 and Subdivision 6 of Division 2 of Part 4.
PSP assessment means an estimation of carbon in an area made in accordance with section 23.
Note: This is one of the 2 measurement processes available to a project proponent to estimate carbon stock within a stratum and involves the use of permanent sample plots (PSPs). The other process is a full inventory.
regional function means an allometric function developed by or for a project proponent and which has an allometric domain that potentially extends across multiple strata.
Regulations means the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Regulations 2011.
Rule means the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule 2015.
root:shoot ratio (R:S) means the ratio of below‑ground biomass to above-ground biomass.
sampling plan means a sampling plan as described in Subdivision 3 of Division 2 of Part 4.
seed number means a number input into a pseudo-random number generator.
size class means a class of items that is determined according to size.
starting edge means, for a plot established within a belt planting, the first edge of the plot to be laid out on the ground.
stem means the hard woody structural support element of a tree that forms part of the tree’s above‑ground structure and includes the trunk and heavier vertical limbs extending into the crown.
stratum means a stratum of a project area defined under section 17.
stratum area, of a stratum, means the area within the stratum boundary, expressed in hectares.
stratum boundary—see subsection 18(4).
stratum commencement means the point in time at which preparation of a stratum for planting begins.
stratum identifier means a unique numeric, alpha numeric, or text string that is used to refer to and identify a stratum.
stratum specific function means an allometric function developed by or for a project proponent from an allometric dataset collected exclusively from within a single stratum, to which the stratum specific function is intended to be applied.
tap root or lignotuber means a thickened, rigid and dense woody mass connected directly to a tree’s stem at ground level and extending downwards into the regolith, and with lateral roots extending from it.
target plot size means the area of the land that is intended to be included within the boundaries of a plot or biomass sample plot as determined in accordance with Part 4.
target probable limit of error, for a full inventory or a PSP assessment—see section 29.
test tree means a project tree that has been randomly selected from within a temporary sample plot or a biomass sample plot for biomass measurement as part of the process for validating regional functions or converting stratum specific functions to regional functions.
tree means a perennial plant that has primary supporting structures consisting of secondary xylem.
tree status means one of the following conditions of a tree:
(a) live;
(b) dead standing;
(c) live fire affected;
(d) dead standing fire affected.
tree type means trees that are of the same species and equivalent tree status, and which have predictor measures that fall within a defined range of values.
TSP (temporary sample plot) means an area of land that has been selected and established as a TSP in accordance with Subdivision 5 and Subdivision 6 of Division 2 of Part 4.
weighted residual means the difference between measured and predicted (from a regression equation) tree biomass multiplied by a weighting factor, and as calculated using Equation 32b.
Note: Other words and expressions used in this determination have the meaning given by the Act, including: