Logging and the slow disappearance of Australia's large old trees (commentary)

Nature & Climate Perspective

**The systematic destruction of Australia's large old trees directly undermines long-term biogenic carbon sinks and degrades critical ecological infrastructure essential for biodiversity preservation. **

• Loss of high-density carbon reservoirs compromises intact forest carbon storage capacity, as mature trees sequester and hold disproportionately larger biomass volumes than replacement regrowth under LULUCF frameworks.
• Destruction of nesting and denning hollows causes irreversible habitat loss, violating ecological integrity safeguards required to maintain native faunal keystone species.
• Canopy thinning and structural fragmentation increase vulnerability to catastrophic wildfires and microclimate drying, eroding long-term environmental stability and forest resilience.

Market & Policy Outlook

**Continued native forest degradation highlights significant additionality, baseline, and permanence risks when evaluated against ICVCM Core Carbon Principles (CCPs). **

• Regulatory failure to protect mature growth creates policy misalignment with international Article 6.4 crediting standards and global biodiversity commitments.
• Secondary market liquidity is pivoting rapidly toward CCP-labeled credits, leaving traditional Australian forestry units at risk of severe price discounting without verifiable protection covenants.
• Corporate off-takers face escalating Scope 3 and SBTi Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) compliance scrutiny if associated supply chains are exposed to native forest logging and biodiversity loss.