BOULDER CO, 12 December 2023 – A team of scientists from Perennial Climate Inc., a leader in agricultural carbon measurement technology, has published a significant piece of correspondence in the renowned scientific journal Nature, titled "Generate verifiable soil carbon credits from croplands". The publication emphasizes the crucial role of spatial soil carbon measurement in the generation of accurate carbon credits and drives forward the research in this critical field.
The Correspondence, authored by Peng Fu, David Schurman, Mitchell Donovan, and James R. Kellner, highlights a critical shift in the methodology for generating soil carbon credits. As stated in the article, "Soil carbon credits from croplands currently hinge on biogeochemical models. However, satellite imaging and digital soil mapping of organic carbon stocks can provide more accurate data." The authors emphasize that using spatial methods of carbon quantification–like digital soil mapping–that map carbon continuously rather than at specific points will become a critical scientific resource to help overcome the growing pains of soil carbon credit markets.
Dr. Peng Fu, an Applied Scientist at Perennial, Assistant Professor at Harrisburg University and the lead author of the Correspondence, remarked on the importance of this publication, saying: "We thought it was important to highlight the growing need for spatial soil carbon measurement in order to generate accurate credits and to drive research in this area." This statement reflects a growing consensus within the scientific community on the necessity of evolving current methods of soil carbon quantification.
Dr. James Kellner, Associate Professor at Brown University and Perennial's Chief Scientist, elaborated on the organization's role in pioneering these advancements. "Perennial is developing new digital soil mapping technologies like the ones described in the Nature Correspondence. We hope to facilitate collaborations between the private sector and university academics to strengthen the rigor of these methods and increase confidence in the outcome," he stated. This vision underscores Perennial’s commitment to bridging the gap between technological innovation and academic research.
The authors call for a collaborative effort among national agencies, scientists, and the private sector to develop standards for spatially explicit carbon accounting in agriculture. They emphasize the need for a geographically distributed network of ground-monitoring sites to ensure transparency and rigor in generating soil carbon credits. This collaboration is seen as essential in promoting climate-smart agricultural practices globally.
The Correspondence in Nature marks a significant milestone for Perennial and digital soil mapping researchers as a whole. "We are excited to contribute to the growing body of scientific evidence around new ways to measure and verify soil carbon at scale,” remarked David Schurman, the CTO of Perennial. “Decarbonizing the agriculture industry will require a system of complementary measurement approaches, and this work further evidences that digital soil mapping needs to be part of the solution."
To read the Correspondence, click here. For more information about Perennial Climate Inc. and their work in digital soil mapping, visit www.perennial.earth.
About Perennial
Perennial (www.perennial.earth) is a research and technology company developing innovative methods to incentivize and scale the adoption of regenerative agriculture programs. The company has been working for multiple years to commercialize ongoing research in data-driven modeling and land remote sensing for scalable, robust soil carbon quantification. Perennial has received over $25M USD in public and private funding to provide efficient, accurate, low-cost carbon measurement technologies and powerful digital tools for agricultural carbon projects. Perennial’s mission is to enable agricultural soils to become one of the world’s largest voluntary carbon sinks.
Contact: kpeters@perennial.earth
Source: Nature Correspondence, "Generate verifiable soil carbon credits from croplands" by Peng Fu, David Schurman, Mitchell Donovan & James R. Kellner, Nature 624, 252 (2023). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03950-2
