Benefits of increasing Soil Organic Carbon
The Wilson Inlet Growers Group (WIGG) recently caught up to explore soil carbon with carbon consultant Jennifer West. Jennifer is the founder and managing director of Carbon West, a Perth-based carbon farming consultancy.
Farmers have a big role to play when it comes to capturing atmospheric carbon. They manage an extensive portion of Australia which has been largely cleared of trees (therefore carbon). This presents an enormous opportunity for them to help restore the balance. The Australian Government has also provided a financial incentive. The Clean Energy Regulator generates Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) through Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) projects. Each ACCU represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). ACCUs can be issued for above ground projects (tree planting) and below ground projects. Currently one ACCU sells for around $30.
Below ground projects are all about the soil organic carbon (SOC). SOC represents the carbon fraction of soil organic matter (SOM), which includes the living and decaying matter in soils derived from microorganisms, plants, and animals. A below ground project involves managing your land to encourage increases in SOC. Jennifer explained that with below ground ERF projects, a proponents’ SOC baseline (or starting point) is calculated using lab analysis of soil core samples. The project area is then remeasured every few years (at least every 5 years) in the same way. Projects must run for at least 25 years as carbon must be stored for a long time, not just for a short while. The proponent can generate ACCUs (a tradable financial unit) by increasing their SOC during the project period. If SOC increases and generates ACCUs, proponents are responsible for maintaining the new levels until the project ends, or be liable to return some of the ACCUs issued.
Jennifer said, “SOC in agricultural soils across the world has fallen over the past century. Land use change, tillage, overgrazing and synthetic biocide applications are believed to have caused this decline in many instances. Depending on their physical and chemical properties, and the amount of rainfall received in that area, soils have an ability to hold organic carbon within their structure. That ability to hold carbon ranges in the top 30cms from as low as 1% (let’s say Eneabba), to as high as 10% or more (probably nowhere in WA!). Some soils, with a low capacity to hold carbon, have fared very badly under intensive agricultural production and may have lost more than half of the carbon it once held…” Jennifer explained to WIGG that the benefits from increasing SOC are often more about the increase in farm productivity than generating ACCUs. By increasing your SOC you retain more nutrients, water, and biological activity. Farms become more resilient to drought and can increase their stocking rates due to better pasture production through increased SOC levels. Jennifer said that one of the best things farmers can do is diversify their pasture species. More species across more families of plants supports healthy, well-functioning microbial communities. Keeping your soil covered year-round also delivers benefits, protecting soil microbial populations from temperature extremes to enable their survival. This can be achieved through soil testing for adequate pasture nutrition, rotational grazing, and diverse-species pastures which contain both winter and summer-active plant varieties.
If you would like to learn more you can contact Jennifer at Carbon West on 042168055 or visit www.carbonwest.com.au, or visit www.wicc.org.au.
WIGG is funded in part by the Western Australian Government’s State Natural Resource Management Program.
Farmers have a big role to play when it comes to capturing atmospheric carbon. They manage an extensive portion of Australia which has been largely cleared of trees (therefore carbon). This presents an enormous opportunity for them to help restore the balance. The Australian Government has also provided a financial incentive. The Clean Energy Regulator generates Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) through Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) projects. Each ACCU represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). ACCUs can be issued for above ground projects (tree planting) and below ground projects. Currently one ACCU sells for around $30.
Below ground projects are all about the soil organic carbon (SOC). SOC represents the carbon fraction of soil organic matter (SOM), which includes the living and decaying matter in soils derived from microorganisms, plants, and animals. A below ground project involves managing your land to encourage increases in SOC. Jennifer explained that with below ground ERF projects, a proponents’ SOC baseline (or starting point) is calculated using lab analysis of soil core samples. The project area is then remeasured every few years (at least every 5 years) in the same way. Projects must run for at least 25 years as carbon must be stored for a long time, not just for a short while. The proponent can generate ACCUs (a tradable financial unit) by increasing their SOC during the project period. If SOC increases and generates ACCUs, proponents are responsible for maintaining the new levels until the project ends, or be liable to return some of the ACCUs issued.
Jennifer said, “SOC in agricultural soils across the world has fallen over the past century. Land use change, tillage, overgrazing and synthetic biocide applications are believed to have caused this decline in many instances. Depending on their physical and chemical properties, and the amount of rainfall received in that area, soils have an ability to hold organic carbon within their structure. That ability to hold carbon ranges in the top 30cms from as low as 1% (let’s say Eneabba), to as high as 10% or more (probably nowhere in WA!). Some soils, with a low capacity to hold carbon, have fared very badly under intensive agricultural production and may have lost more than half of the carbon it once held…” Jennifer explained to WIGG that the benefits from increasing SOC are often more about the increase in farm productivity than generating ACCUs. By increasing your SOC you retain more nutrients, water, and biological activity. Farms become more resilient to drought and can increase their stocking rates due to better pasture production through increased SOC levels. Jennifer said that one of the best things farmers can do is diversify their pasture species. More species across more families of plants supports healthy, well-functioning microbial communities. Keeping your soil covered year-round also delivers benefits, protecting soil microbial populations from temperature extremes to enable their survival. This can be achieved through soil testing for adequate pasture nutrition, rotational grazing, and diverse-species pastures which contain both winter and summer-active plant varieties.
If you would like to learn more you can contact Jennifer at Carbon West on 042168055 or visit www.carbonwest.com.au, or visit www.wicc.org.au.
WIGG is funded in part by the Western Australian Government’s State Natural Resource Management Program.