Carbon and Land Management
What is Carbon Sequestration?
Carbon sequestration is the storage of carbon in soil and plants. It’s a hot topic right now because there’s too much carbon in the wrong place: the atmosphere. Carbon Harvest wants to incentivize putting carbon back where it belongs, in the roots and trunks of trees, and in the soil that sustains us.
A 1% increase in soil organic matter equals an average of 10 tons of below-ground carbon stored in the soil, per acre.
We can achieve carbon sequestration through many land management practices that are collectively referred to as Carbon Farming.
These practices are based on indigenous land management techniques, and lead to the enrichment of soils and the vitality of plant life, while also increasing the capture and storage of atmospheric carbon into the soil and plant biomass, therefore balancing the climate.
Carbon Farming
What’s Carbon Farming?
Carbon Farming refers to farming and grazing practices that increase the capture and storage of atmospheric carbon into the soil and plant biomass, therefore balancing the climate. Carbon farming practices include:
minimal tilling or no-till
increasing fertility through cover crops, crop rotations, compost, and animal manures
well-managed animal grazing systems
agroforestry, where trees and shrubs are deliberately integrated with crops and livestock
Besides the positive climate impact, carbon farming practices also reduce erosion, improve the soil’s capacity to percolate and hold water—therefore mitigating both drought and flooding—protect biodiversity, increase food security, and produce more nutrient-dense food and forage.
Carbon Farming Co-benefits
Diversified farm income
Many carbon farming practices integrate new, especially woody species into the farm landscape, providing potential new income streams in the form of timber or fruit/nut crops. They allow the productive use of marginal lands, as in the case of riparian buffers.
Increase biodiversity
Multifunctional systems — such as mixtures of multiple species in a cover crop rotation, trees on cropland or pasture, and the integration of perennial plant species — create complex ecosystem structures that support biodiversity and enhanced ecological function.
Productivity
Agroforestry systems improve livestock health and production because they reduce heat stress. Tree-based foraging systems decrease the need for purchased feed. Windbreaks and alley cropping protect wind-sensitive crops, leading to greater productivity in terms of crop yields.
Provide shade and wind protection
Agroforestry practices improve livestock health because the shade reduces heat stress on animals. Similarly, windbreaks and alley cropping reduce heat and wind stress on annual crops.
Mitigate water extremes
More carbon stored in soils means increased water-holding capacity and therefore mitigating water extremes, both flooding and drought. It also means less erosion, run-off, and effluents.
Other ecosystem benefits
reduced erosion and wind erosion
increased wildlife habitat
filter nutrients, pesticides, and sediment
increase food security