The monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) process measures the amount of carbon sequestered by nature-based mitigation, such as reforestation or improved forest management. Forests can absorb more carbon than they emit, and soils contain three times as much carbon as the atmosphere, but it’s essential to actively monitor how changing environmental factors can affect this ecosystem service.

CESD scientists developed a vegetation demographic model that simulates detailed forest carbon balances and interactions of forested ecosystems under climate- and land-use changes to provide more accurate accounting of forest carbon sequestration. They are advancing MRV technology by integrating this modeling approach with remote sensing, ground-truthing, and machine learning to better calculate carbon credits and develop understanding of forest carbon balances and removal details at the scale needed for commercial forest-based carbon dioxide removal projects. Experts are also creating noninvasive imaging technologies to monitor and inform soil carbon storage estimates without digging beneath the soil.