Measuring the path and impact of planetary respiration and soil carbon.

For hundreds of millions of years, soil has been home to diverse microorganisms that have balanced carbon between the air and soil, but conventional or industrial agricultural practices—such as tillage, fertilizers and fallow farmland—have dramatically degraded 1.87 billion hectares of farmland soil, preventing it from doing what nature intended—converting CO₂ to carbon accretion in soil.

The good news is nature has already solved this problem once before and reduced CO₂ levels in the atmosphere on a massive scale.

Planting more trees is one strategy to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, but a far more immediate and scalable strategy is biologically supported regenerative agriculture—farming WITH nature.

Farmers tracking their regenerative methods and soil carbon accretion are verifying that functional living soils can remove more than 10 tons C/ha/yr.

  • Russell Hedrick, who operates a major farm in North Carolina, is is accruing 8.5 tons C/ha/yr, while increasing his yield significantly.

  • Gabe Brown, from North Dakota, is accruing 11.6 tons of C/ha/yr, while improving yield and profitability.

With 1.87 billion hectares of agricultural land, we have the capacity to draw down all current emissions and our legacy footprint.

Regenerative agriculture is an affordable and scalable solution to climate change that provides humanity with many auxiliary benefits.

  • Increased soil fertility

  • Improved plant health and nutrient density

  • Greater water percolation and reduced flooding

  • Expanded water-holding capacity and resilience to drought

  • Higher margin for farmers

  • Less pollution and cleaner water

The Soil Carbon Accrual Project

The Soil Carbon Accrual Project is a critical, multi-year, multi-location research and demonstration project that uses flux tower technology and biologically supported regenerative agriculture to better understand how nature moves CO₂. Conventional methods of measuring soil carbon only capture single measurements at any one time, contributing to the misperception that soil respires as much CO₂ as it captures.

A flux tower measures the flow of CO₂ continuously (including both respiration and accrual). Data from the flux towers and new soil probe technology will be correlated with data from satellite soil carbon estimates and conventional laboratory analysis of soil core samples. This comprehensive technical view will give us the whole picture and verify which technical measurements are most accurate and efficient.

This project will give a team of scientists and farmers an opportunity to evaluate the level of significance soil carbon accretion can play in mitigating GHG levels with much more certainty, thus providing scientists, farmers and policy makers with a clear and hopeful path forward to address climate change.

The Soil Carbon Accrual Project is collaboration of more than 10 scientists from two continents led by the Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems at Chico State University—a university versed in healthy soil biomes and carbon cycles.

Research Team

  • Dr. Cindy Daley

    Center for Regenerative Agriculture & Resilient Systems, California State University, Chico.

  • Dr. Tim LaSalle

    Center for Regenerative Agriculture & Resilient Systems, California State University, Chico.

  • Dr. Logan Smith

    Center for Regenerative Agriculture & Resilient Systems, California State University, Chico.

  • Dr. Robert Clement

    University of Exeter, United Kingdom.

  • Dr. Patty Oikawa

    Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences. Cal State East Bay.

  • Dr. Elizabeth Boyd

    College of Agriculture. California State University, Chico.

  • Dr. Sandrine Matiasek

    Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at California State University, Chico

  • Dr. Garrett Liles

    College of Agriculture. California State University, Chico.

  • Dr. Jacob Brimlow

    College of Agriculture. California State University, Chico.

  • Dr. John Knowles

    Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at California State University, Chico

Partners & Advisors

  • Tom Newmark

    The Carbon Underground

  • Larry Kopald

    The Carbon Underground

  • Bruce Burnworth

    HealthySoilBiomes.CC

  • Vanessa Alejos

    HealthySoilBiomes.CC

  • Russ Conser

    Blue Nest Beef

  • Marcelo Marzola

    VaydaVayda: Advancing Regenerative Outcomes in Agriculture

  • Bryony Schwan

    Swan Consulting

To learn more, listen to our webinar.

View webinar

Support the project

If you would like to support this important project you can make a donation through The Carbon Underground, our fiscal sponsor.

Or, you can contact us via this form to discuss your interest in supporting the project.