February 2025 Methodology Updates (2/2)
This article is an automatically translated version of the original Japanese article. Please refer to the Japanese version for the most accurate information.
Sustainacraft Inc. Newsletter
Methodology Updates is a series covering Carbon Credit and biodiversity Methodology. In this article, we introduce Verra's new tool, currently under public consultation, which estimates Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks using digital soil mapping.
Recently, various registries have been introducing digital tools into Carbon Project procedures (such as Registration with a registry, MRV, etc.) aiming to improve the accuracy, transparency, scalability, and efficiency of Carbon Projects. The tool introduced here is also part of Verra's latest efforts to integrate digital tools into its Methodology. Beyond this, the introduction of Digital MRV (dMRV) in VCS Standard 5 (a major update under consideration) is also being discussed. Outside of Verra, examples include Isometric's framework for dMRV options within its forest restoration protocol. These topics have also been introduced in the following newsletters, so please refer to them as needed.
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Verra Announces Tool for Digital Soil Mapping (DSM)
(Source: Tool for quantifying organic carbon stocks using digital soil mapping: calibration, validation, and uncertainty estimation, accessed February 28, 2025)
Increasing Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks is a critical means of Emission Reduction in land management Methodology. However, traditional soil sampling methods are labor-intensive and costly, making accurate Measurement of SOC stocks over vast areas a long-standing challenge.
To address this issue, Verra announced this month a public consultation for a Methodology related to an SOC quantification tool that leverages Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) technology. This tool integrates soil sampling, Remote Sensing, and other environmental data sources to map SOC at high resolution ("Tool for Quantifying Organic Carbon Stocks Using Digital Soil Mapping: Calibration, Validation, and Uncertainty Estimation in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program", hereinafter referred to as "CN0137 Draft Tool"). Compared to conventional soil sampling methods, DSM is expected to achieve broader spatial coverage and improved spatial resolution and accuracy.
This tool is intended for use in conjunction with VM0042 (ALM) Methodology aimed at improved Agricultural Land Management, and other VCS program Methodologies that quantify SOC stocks in agricultural lands. The public consultation for this tool will run from February 20 to April 4, 2025. Additionally, an introductory webinar will be held on March 7, 2025, at 12:00 PM JST (Japan Standard Time), led by Verra and Perennial Climate Inc., who spearheaded the development of this tool.
What is a DSM Model?
Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) models are computational tools that leverage diverse environmental data to generate spatial maps of soil properties, such as Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks. DSM models are trained using known soil property measurements at specific locations, along with corresponding environmental "predictor" data such as Remote Sensing imagery, topographic attributes, and climatic data. They model the relationship between these known soil properties and predictor variables through statistical methods and machine learning algorithms. Once trained, the model can estimate SOC stocks based on environmental data and be applied to new, unobserved locations. For example, if a trained model explains SOC using precipitation, spatial precipitation data from Remote Sensing can be utilized to estimate SOC across the entire landscape. Actual models are more complex, and numerous input variables are involved in SOC estimation.