About

MRV4SOC aims to account for changes in as many Carbon pools as possible, estimate Green House Gases (GHG) and full Carbon budgets, couple Carbon and Nitrogen cycles, quantify Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) accumulation, and assess the results of traditional management practices and Carbon farming. The consortium is investigating methodologies that account for the full GHG and C budget meeting the QU.A.L.ITY criteria (QUantification, Additionality and baselines, Long-term storage, and sustanabilITY). The results of this project will contribute building a Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification framework for the EU land sector.

Soil can store more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits, acting as a sink. Unfortunately, climate change and socio-economic pressures have contributed to land degradation and a loss of biomass, ultimately reducing its sink capability. The result is a rise in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and risks for food production. Sustainable land management practices can turn carbon sources into sinks.

The project uses state-of-the-art technologies, including spectrometry, satellites, and drones to acquire reliable data on carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions linked to land use. The acquired in-situ and remote sensing data will be used to develop geostatistical and process-based models in 14 demo sites covering 9 land use/ land cover classes. The demo sites have been chosen considering the variability of climate and socio-economic conditions in Europe.

MRV4SOC is a 3-year project funded by the European Union that started in June 2023.