Measurement and Monitoring Soil Carbon

Why measure soil carbon?

Survey and monitoring of natural resources are becoming increasingly important in the last 50 years and will continue to do so (de Gruijter et al., 2006). This is mainly due human pressure on natural resources and increasing awareness of its negative impact on ecosystem health and human wellbeing (de Gruijter et al., 2006).

Burning of fossil fuels and land-use change, particularly deforestation, has resulted in a steady accumulation of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which is the cause of global warming (IPCC, 2003). The two major strategies to mitigate the potential negative effects of climate change are reducing the emission of greenhouse gases and the capture and storage of CO₂ from the atmosphere. Through the framework of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto protocol, increasing terrestrial sinks through afforestation and reforestation are the two accredited activities. Besides afforestation and reforestation, reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) and enhancing carbon stocks though sustainable land management (REDD+) are given due credit in mitigating climate change (Campbell, 2009).

Measuring, reporting and verification (MRV) of such climate mitigation actions thought Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) is one major outcome of the Bali convention (United Nations, 2007). MRV gives opportunities to developing countries to claim financial, technical and capacity building support from developed countries to implement their NAMAs. Understanding these benefits, a growing number of developing countries (e.g. Algeria, China, South Africa, Indonesia, Costa Rica) have drafted, adopted and, in some cases, started implementing national climate action plans (Fransen et al., 2008). However, lack of a robust method of measuring NAMAs and the technical gaps pose serious challenges for developing countries (Ellis and Larsen, 2008).

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has called for the development of a system for measuring and monitoring carbon benefits of sustainable land management projects and natural resource management interventions. However, there is so far no comprehensive and standardized protocol for measurement and monitoring of carbon in diverse tropical landscapes that is applicable everywhere. A robust and cost effective method of measuring above- and below-ground carbon stocks would facilitate the MRV of NAMAs.

The aim of this protocol is to a provide practical and cost-effective methods for measurement and monitoring of soil carbon stocks in landscapes. The protocol is orientated towards those managing and implementing land improvement projects in which knowledge of soil carbon stocks is important. Options are provided for measuring soil carbon at different levels of complexity depending on objectives, cost, and access to scientific expertise. At the simplest level, the protocol will allow project managers with limited resources to measure the total soil carbon stock in a project area with quantified uncertainty.

__________

Campbell, B. 2009. Beyond Copenhagen: REDD+, agriculture, adaptation strategies and poverty. Global Environmental Change, 19(4): 397–399.

de Gruijter, J., Burs, D.,  Bierkens, M., Knotters, M. 2006. Sampling for Natural Resource Monitoring. Pp.332.  Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Fransen, T., McMahon, H., and Nakhooda, S. 2008. Measuring the Way to a New Global Climate Agreement. World Resources Institute Discussion Paper, World Resources Institute, Washington, DC.

IPCC. 2003. Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry, In Penman, J., et al., eds. Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan.

United Nations. 2007. Bali Action Plan: Decision 1/CP.13. [Online] http://unfccc.int/documentation/decisions/items/3597.php?such=j&volltext=/CP.13#beg (verified 05 August, 2010).