Soil Organic Carbon (Change)*

Estimates the amount of carbon stored in the top 30 cm of soil based on a predictive baseline model and the CoolFarmTool model for cropland, tree crop, and grassland applications

availability

On Demand

Now

indicator tier

Gold

unit

Tonnes of Carbon

spatial resolution

Field-level

measurement frequency

Annual

measurement level

Plot

historic data availability

2018 - 2024

Forescast data availability

2025-2045

applicable crop types

Annual

applicable land type

Cropland

compliance frameworks

SBTi, CSRD (ESRS E1), TNFD, SAI

description

Baseline and changes in soil organic carbon stock of croplands using a combination of earth observation for practices monitoring, predictive modelling for carbon baseline estimation and an empirical carbon model for estimating annual changes. The model returns annual estimates of soil organic carbon stock in the top 30cm of soil.

methodology

Builds on Soilgrids dataset for baselining soil carbon stocks, an in-house cover crops detection model built on optical satellite data (Sentinel 2) and the CoolFarmTool carbon cycle model.

validation

Models have been evaluated in their general performance against reference data and plausibility. The validation for the soil organic carbon baseline model has been peer-reviewed (De Sousa, 2020). The CoolFarmTool implementation follows the IPCC Tier 1 land carbon change coefficients closely and has been externally audited. Our implementation of the entire calculation pipeline has been certified as a qualified tool for Scope 3 GHG assessment.