American Carbon Registry: Compost Additions to Grazed Grasslands Methodology

This methodology was developed by Terra Global Capital with support from the Environmental Defense Fund, Silver Lab at the University of California Berkeley, and the Marin Carbon Project. The methodology accounts for the carbon sequestration and avoided GHG emissions related to compost additions to grazed grasslands. It provides a quantification framework for emissions reductions from avoiding anaerobic decomposition of organic material used in compost production. This directly increases soil organic carbon (SOC) content and indirectly increases SOC sequestration through enhanced plant growth in amended fields. Apart from the economic benefit of increased forage production, applying compost to grazed grasslands has environmental co-benefits such as improved soil quality, decreased risk of erosion from water and wind by increasing soil aggregation, and increasing nutrient and water availability for forage vegetation.

Van R. Haden,  Steven De Gryze, Nora Nelson

2014

Terra Global Capital & The American Carbon Registry