Australian farmers are committed to planting trees

The Balance of Grass and Tree Cover Dashboard is an industry initiative that identifies trends in woody vegetation and ground cover. The dashboard, created by Cibo Labs, involves the integration of 30 years of satellite data to detect annual trends in woody vegetation and seasonal trends in ground cover.

Overall, Australia’s grazed agricultural lands are increasing in woody vegetation. In fact, the amount of tree cover in Australia has increased over the last 27 years. Total net woody vegetation (inclusive of forest and woodlands) on grazing properties in Australia has increased by 7.5% or 8 million ha between 1995 and 2022  – lifting from 107 million ha in 1995 to 115 million ha in 2022. 

In addition, farmers like Paul Crook are actively reforesting their lands, using indigenous plants to help increase biodiversity and also contribute to animal wellbeing by providing shade and shelter for their livestock.

Total  forest  area on Australian grazing properties increased by 6.6M hectares between 1995 and 2022.

Total forest area on Australian grazing properties fluctuated until 2008, however, has been increasing since 2008. The annual change in Australia's forest area is calculated by applying the forest area change data from the Australian Government's annual National Inventory Report to the total forest area figure determined by ABARES using the Multiple Lines of Evidence process.

Australia is second best in the world for reforestation, net growth in forest area between 2010 – 2020 . 

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported on Australia’s national reforestation with an average annual net gain in forest area between 2010-2020 of 446,000 hectares per year, representing an area around 2.5% of Australia’s total forest area.    

Australian grazing properties have contributed to the net gain in forest area over this period.