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Abstract
Large scale forest plantations in the Murray-Darling Basin may be embraced as a carbon
sequestration mechanism under a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. However, increased
tree plantation will be associated with reduced inflows to river systems because of increased
transpiration, interception and evaporation. Therefore, an unregulated change in land
management is most likely to have a dramatic impact on the water availability. This will
exacerbate the impacts of climate change projected in the Garnaut Review. This paper
examines the implications of unrestricted changes in land use. These results should suggest
the true costs to society from carbon sequestration by determining the tradeoffs between
timber production and agricultural products.