Plan
We design a bespoke stratified soil sampling plan tuned for Precision, Certainty, and Cost requirements.
Precision: One row, one field, one farm, one catchment? You decide geographic area you’d like to measure.
Certainty: We can measure to FAO and Verra standards
Cost: The most cost-effective stratified sampling plan accounting for soil type, land use and depth
Measure
We coordinate with you to take soil samples according to our sampling protocol and bespoke plan. Carbon Quester uses Rothamsted Research Laboratory facilities for rigorous and high quality soil testing.
Analyse
We crunch your data and provide an extensive report detailing your carbon baseline, comparing soils across the landscape and benchmarking against comparable sites to inform management practice and indicate soil health.
Standards
For soil sample extraction and handling, Carbon Quester follows guidelines laid down in:
FAO Standards (Measuring and modelling soil carbon stocks and stock changes in livestock production systems: Guidelines for assessment (Version 1). 170 (Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) Partnership, Rome, 2019))
and FAO. A protocol for measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification of soil organic carbon in agricultural landscapes – GSOC-MRV Protocol., (Rome, 2020)
For sampling density, CQ follows protocol laid out by the Clean Development Mechanism.
(Calculation of the number of sample plots for measurements within A/R CDM project activities (version 02.1.0). UNFCCC CDM EB 58 Report, Annex 15., 7 (Rome, 2010))
Compliance
Our soil sampling methodology:
Carbon Quester’s soil sampling is compliant Verra's VM0042 Methodology, outlined in Section 8.2.1.1 'General Requirements for Soil Sampling'
CQ's use of spectroscopy technology is compliant with VM0042 as outlined in Appendix 4
CQ's methodology is compliant with Gold Standard's 'Soil Organic Carbon Activity Module for Zero Tillage' and Gold Standard's 'Soil Organic Carbon Framework Methodology'