⚙️SM01 - Selva

Methodology for measuring GHG removals - Afforestation, Reforestation and revegetation

1. Introduction

2. Objective (Scope and applicability)

Applicability

Applicability

2.1 Project interventions

• Agroforestry and farm forestry;

• Changes to cultivation practices;

• Changes to livestock and manure management;

• Afforestation and reforestation;

• Forest restoration;

• Improved forest management.

3. Methodological source

This Methodology is based on the CDM Methodology: " AR-ACM0003. A/R Large-scale Consolidated Methodology. Afforestation and reforestation of lands except wetlands. Version 02.0 AR and relative CDM tools, applicable to this projects' type.

4. Glossary

For technical definitions and abbreviations the following documents shall apply: "Glossary of CDM terms"

6. Methodological and normative references

a) AR-ACM0003 A/R Large-scale Consolidated Methodology: Afforestation and reforestation of lands except wetlands, Version 2.0. CDM Methodology. Available from: https://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/DB/C9QS5G3CS8FW04MYYXDFOQDPXWM4OE b) AR-AM0014 Afforestation and reforestation of degraded mangrove habitats, Version 3.0. CDM Methodology. Available from: https://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/DB/KMH6O8T6RL3P5XKNBQE2N359QG7KOE c) AR-TOOL12 Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks in dead wood and litter in A/R CDM project activities, Version 3.1. CDM Tool. Available from: https://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/ARmethodologies/tools/ar-am-tool-12-v1.1.0.pdf/history_view d) AR-TOOL14 Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks of trees and shrubs in A/R CDM project activities, Version 4.2. CDM Tool. Available from: https://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/ARmethodologies/tools/ar-am-tool-14-v2.1.0.pdf/history_view

e) AR-TOOL16 Tool for estimation of change in soil organic carbon stocks due to the implementation of A/R CDM project activities, Version 1.1. CDM Tool. Available from: https://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/ARmethodologies/tools/ar-am-tool-16-v1.1.0.pdf/history_view f) Winjum, J.K., Brown, S. and Schlamadinger, B., 1998. Forest harvests and wood products: sources and sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Forest Science, 44(2), pp.272-284. https://academic.oup.com/forestscience/article/44/2/272/4626952

g) IPCC Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry, 2003 h) The national or supranational (e.g., EU) legislation in force, related to forestry activities and permanent tree crops and GHG projects i) The guidelines and main Selva framework developed by zeroCO2

7. Carbon reservoirs and GHG sources

7.1 Carbon pools selected for accounting in baseline and project scenario

The selection of carbon reservoirs to quantify change in carbon stock at the baseline and at the project boundaries level are shown in Table 1.

Carbon pools	Applicability	Justification/Explanation
Above-ground biomass	Yes	Carbon stock in this pool is expected to increase due to the implementation of the project activity
Below-ground biomass	Yes	Carbon stock in this pool is expected to increase due to the implementation of the project activity
Deadwood and litter	Optional	Carbon stock in this pool is expected to increase due to the implementation of the project activity
Soil organic carbon	Optional	Carbon stock in this pool is expected to increase due to the implementation of the project activity
Wood products	Optional	Carbon stock in this pool is expected to increase due to the implementation of the project activity

7.2 Emission sources and GHGs selected for accounting in baseline and project scenario

Baseline

Carbon pools	GHG	Applicability	Justification/Explanation
Emission from nitrogen fertilizers	CO2, CH4, N2O	NO	Conservative excluded
Burning of woody biomass	CO2, CH4, N20	NO	Conservative excluded
Burning of fossil fuels	CO2, CH4, N20	NO	Not significant

Project scenario

Sources	GHG	Applicability	Justification/Explanation
Burning of woody biomass	CO2,CH4,N2O	No	Burning of woody biomass for the purpose of site preparation, or as part of forest management, is not allowed under this methodology
Emission from nitrogen fertilizers	N2O	Yes	When nitrogen fertilizer is applied as part of the project activity, N;,O emissions from nitrogen-containing soil amendments are accounted for.
Burning of fossil fuels	CO2, CH4, N20	No	Not significant

7.3 Identification of the baseline scenario and demonstration of additionality

The “Combined tool to identify the baseline scenario and demonstrate additionality in A/R CDM project activities” shall be applied for the purpose of identification of the baseline scenario and demonstration of additionality.

In particular, it is necessary to detail well the land use in the 10 years prior to the start of the project, demonstrating the theory of change that will be applied and why without the project activities the planned land use change would not have occurred.

7.4 Stratification

If biomass distribution over the project area is not homogeneous, stratification should be carried out to improve the precision of biomass estimation. Different stratifications may be appropriate for the baseline and project scenarios in order to achieve optimal precision of estimation of net GHG removals by sinks. In particular:

(a) For baseline net GHG removals by sinks, it is usually sufficient to stratify the area according to major vegetation types and their crown cover and/or land use types;

(b) For actual net GHG removals by sinks the stratification for ex ante estimations is based on the project planting/management plan and the stratification for ex post estimations is based on the actual implementation of the project planting/management plan. If natural or anthropogenic impacts (e.g. local fires) or other factors (e.g. soil type) significantly alter the pattern of biomass distribution in the project area, then the ex post stratification is revised accordingly.

8. Estimation of GHG removals

Estimation of carbon stocks shall be calculated following AR-TOOL14 A/R Methodological tool: "Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks of trees and shrubs in A/R CDM project activities Version 04.1". Where the pool quantitation methodologies are detailed as reported in this document. The net GHG removals by sinks in the baseline scenario are calculated as follows:

8.1 Baseline

Equation 1

Where :

= Baseline net GHG removals by sinks in period t; tCO_2e

=Change in carbon stock in baseline tree biomass within the project

boundary in period t, as estimated in the tool “Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks of trees and shrubs in A/R CDM project activities”; tCO_2e

=Change in carbon stock in baseline shrub biomass within the project boundary, in period t, as estimated in the tool “Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks of trees and shrubs in A/R CDM project activities”; tCO_2e

=Change in carbon stock in baseline dead-wood biomass within the project boundary, in period t, as estimated in the tool “Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks in dead wood and litter in AIR CDM project activities”; tCO_2e

=Change in carbon stock in baseline litter biomass within the projectboundary, in period t, as estimated in the tool “Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks in dead wood and litter in A/R CDM project activities”; tCO_2e

=Change in carbon stock in baseline SOC within the project boundary, in period t

According to AR-TOOL14, carbon stock in trees in the baseline can be accounted as zero if al of the following conditions are met:

"1) The pre-project trees are not harvested, cleared, or removed throughout the crediting period of the project activity;

2) The pre-project trees do not suffer mortality because of competition from trees planted in the project, or damage because of implementation of the project activity, at any time during the crediting period of the project activity; 3) The pre-project trees are not inventoried along with the project trees in monitoring of carbon stocks but their continued existence, consistent with the baseline scenario, is monitored throughout the crediting period of the project activity.”

In ex-ante estimation, as reported in AR-TOOL14, the change in carbon stock in trees in the baseline where the mean pre-project tree crown cover is less than 20 per cent of the threshold tree crown cover is estimated as follows:

Equation 2 and 3

Where: ∆C_{TREE,BSL}=Mean annual change in carbon stock in trees in the baseline during the period t; tCO_2e yr^-1 ∆C_{TREE,BSL,i}=Mean change in carbon stock in trees in the baseline in monitoring zone i during the period t; tCO2e

CF_{TREE}=Carbon fraction of tree biomass; t C (t.d.m.)^-1. A default value of 0.47 t C (t.d.m.)^-1 is used unless transparent and verifiable information can be provided to justify a different value. ∆b_{FOREST}= Default mean annual increment of above-ground biomass in forest in the region or country where the A/R CDM project activity is located; td.m.ha^-1yr^-1, Values of are taken from Table 3A.1.5 of the IPCC Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (IPCC GPG-LULUCF 2003) unless transparent and verifiable information can be provided to justify different values.

Note: Tree biomass may reach a steady state in which biomass growth becomes zero or insignificant, either because of biological maturity of trees or because the rate of anthropogenic biomass extraction from the area is equal to the rate of biomass growth. Therefore, this parameter should be taken to be zero after the year in which tree biomass in the baseline reaches a steady state. The year in which tree biomass in the baseline reaches a steady-state is taken to be the 20th year from the start of the CDM project activity, unless transparent and verifiable information can be provided to justify a different year. R_{TREE}= Root-shoot ratio for the trees in the baseline; dimensionless. A default value of 0.25 is used unless transparent and verifiable information can be provided to justify a different value. CC_{TREE,BSL,i}= Crown cover of trees in the baseline, in baseline stratum i, at the start of the A/R CDM project activity, expressed as a fraction (e.g. 10 per cent crown cover implies = 0.10); dimensionless A_{i}= Area of baseline stratum i, delineated on the basis of tree crown cover at the start of the A/R CDM project activity; ha

∆_{t}= Time elapsed between current collateralized and validated stage and previous validated stage; yr

9. Project GHG Removals

On Selva, the net GHG removals in the project scenario are calculated by using the following equation:

Equation 4

Where:

∆C_{P,t} = Change in the carbon stocks in project, occurring in the selected carbon pools, in year t; t CO2e

∆C_{TREE_PROJ,t}= Change in carbon stock in tree biomass in project in year t, as estimated in the tool “Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks of trees and shrubs in A/R CDM project activities”; t CO2-e

∆C_{SHRUB_PROJ,t}= Change in carbon stock in shrub biomass in project in year t, as estimated in the tool “Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks of trees and shrubs in A/R CDM project activities”; t CO2-e

∆C_{DW_PROJ,t}= Change in carbon stock in dead wood in project in year t, as estimated in the tool “Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks in dead wood and litter in A/R CDM project activities”; t CO2-e

∆C_{LI_PROJ,t}= Change in carbon stock in litter in project in year t, as estimated in the tool “Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks in dead wood and litter in A/R CDM project activities”; t CO2-e

∆C_{SOC_PROJ,t}= Change in carbon stock in SOC in project, in year t, in areas of land meeting the applicability conditions of the tool “Tool for estimation of change in soil organic carbon stocks due to the implementation of A/R CDM project activities”, as estimated in the same tool; t CO2-e

9.1 Carbon stock in trees and shrub in a year

Actual woody biomass removals achieved by the project can be estimated using either of the following approaches:

a) Measurements within the project area following the procedures in AR-TOOL14 v4.2, or b) Modeling of tree growth and stand development, following the procedures in AR-TOOL14 v4.2 Section 8.2 with results validated using an approved tool (if available).

If using the measurement procedures in AR-TOOL14 v4.2, project removals in woody biomass are calculated with Equation X. If the project scenario includes harvesting of trees, approaches for defining long-term average project removals in woody biomass described in Section X must be followed."

$$ΔC_{TREE,t}={{C_{TREE,t_2} - C_{TREE,t_1}}}$$

ΔC_{TREE,t} =Change in carbon stock in trees during the period between two points of time t1 and t2; ton CO2e

C_{TREE,t1} =Carbon stock in trees as estimated at time tl; ton CO2e

C_{TREE,t2} =Carbon stock in trees as estimated at time t2; t CO2e

Mean carbon stock in trees within the tree biomass estimation strata and the associated uncertainty are estimated as follows (all time-dependent quantities relate to the time of measurement):

Mean tree biomass per hectare in a stratum and the associated variance are estimated as follows:

If uncertainity estimated from Equation (15) is greater than 10 per cent, is made conservative by applying uncertainty discount according to the table below: Table X. Uncertainity discount factors

Uncertainty	Discount (% of U)	How applied
U ≤ 10%	0%	Estimated mean = 60±9 t d.m ha-1 i.e. U=9/60x100 = 15% Discount = 25% x 9 = 2.25 t d.m ha-1 Discounted conservative mean: In baseline = 60+2.25 = 62.25 t d.m ha-1 In project = 60-2.25 = 57.75 t d.m ha-1
10 < U ≤ 15	25 %
15 < U ≤ 20	50 %
20 < U ≤ 30	75 %
U > 30	100 %

Calculation of belowground biomass

$$B_{BG}=B_{AG}* R$$

B_{BG} = Belowground biomass of woody vegetation (t CO2e)

B_{AG} = Aboveground biomass of woody or non-woody vegetation

R = Root:shoot ratio (t root dry matter/t shoot dry matter)

Root to shoot ratios can be obtained from the following sources: i) Data collected within the project area; ii) Published studies specific to the project region and vegetation type; or iii) Global default values for specific vegetation types or ecoregions e.g. from IPCC 2003.

9.2 Carbon stock in Dead wood and litter

Carbon removals in deadwood and litter shall be estimated based on "AR TOOL 12 - Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks in dead wood and litter in A/R CDM projects activities".

This tool makes the following assumptions:

(a) Linearity of change of biomass in dead wood and litter over a period of time: Change of biomass in dead wood and litter may be assumed to proceed, on average, at an approximately constant rate between two points of time at which the biomass is estimated;

(b) Appropriateness of root-shoot ratios: Root-shoot ratios appropriate for estimation of below-ground biomass from above-ground biomass of living trees are also appropriate for dead trees.

The tool provides procedures to determine the parameters in Table X.

The ex ante estimation should be made referring to AR-TOOL12 v3.1, design removals in deadwood and litter by calculating carbon contributions using Equation 8 and Equation 9.

9.4 Carbon stock in Soil organic carbon

Carbon contributions related to increases in soil organic matter should be measured only if they are relevant and especially if they can be monitored ex post over time. In the first stage the estimation will be done ex ante and then through agronomic sampling techniques confirmed. For ex ante estimation of soil organic carbon sinks, reference should be made referring to the "A/R Methodological Tool for estimation of change in soil organic carbon stocks due to the implementation of A/R CDM project activitiesî (Version 01.1.0)" contained in the CDM methodology “AR-ACM0003: Afforestation and reforestation of land except wetlands - Version 2.0”.

9.5 Wood products

Baseline and project removals in wood products can be estimated with the following approach: "Modelling following procedures in an approved tool based on the conceptual framework detailed in Winjum et al. 1998"

9.6 Harvest

If the forest is planned to be cleared and repopulated or even thinned at any point in its future, sequestration can be claimed only up to the site's long-term average carbon stock, since after each clearing the carbon stock in the site's living trees effectively returns to zero (although some will be retained in harvested wood products for some time).

This long-term average is the maximum amount of sequestration that can be claimed. Subsequent forest growth after a round of logging should continue to be monitored after the end of the crediting period ensuring the permanence of land use and associated carbon sinks. Note that for projects involving clear-cutting, the minimum project duration is the shortest rotation within the project (so if the first trees will be felled after 40 years, the project duration should be at least 40 years).

However, for clear-cutting cases, assisted natural revegetation or parallel restocking activities that demonstrate the maintenance of the ecosystem function of the forest must be provided in the management plan. A management plan involving thinning and targeting tall stands is definitely to be preferred. For the calculation of long term average

9.7 Leakage

The IPCC defines "leakage" as an unforeseen change in the benefits related to greenhouse gas reduction outside the boundary established for calculating the net impact of the project, caused by the project's activities. For instance, reforesting land that would otherwise have been used for agricultural purposes might push farmers to move to areas outside the project boundary. In these new areas, farmers might engage in deforestation to continue their agricultural activities, thereby generating carbon emissions referred to as "leakage."

According to the tool AR-TOOL15, “"Leakage emission attributable to the displacement of

grazing activities under the following conditions is considered insignificant and hence

accounted as zero:

1. Animals are displaced to existing grazing land and the total number of animals in the

receiving grazing land (displaced and existing) does not exceed the carrying

capacity of the grazing land;

2. Animals are displaced to existing non-grazing grassland and the total number of

animals displaced does not exceed the carrying capacity of the receiving grassland;

3. Animals are displaced to cropland that has been abandoned within the last five

years;

4. Animals are displaced to forested lands, and no clearance of trees, or decrease in

crown cover of trees and shrubs, occurs due to the displaced animals;

1. Animals are displaced to a zero-grazing system."

The Project Design Document (PDD) must detail all potential sources of leakage and outline any measures implemented to mitigate it. When estimating or measuring leakage, or determining an appropriate leakage discount factor, net emissions from leakage mitigation measures must be accounted for if they are deemed significant, as specified in AR-TOOL04 v1.0.

In addition, the landowner and/or project developer must commit to avoid the displacement of baseline activities outside the project boundaries. Project monitoring, including through the Selva platform, must ensure that the commitment is met.

9.8 Net Anthropogenic GHG Removals by Sinks

$$ΔC_{t}={({ΔC_{PROJ,t} - {ΔC_{BSL,t}) x (1 - LK_{t})}}}$$

Where

ΔCt = Net anthropogenic GHG removals by sinks, in period t; tCO,e

ΔCproj,t = Project net GHG removals by sinks, in period t; tCO,e

ΔCbsl,t= Baseline net GHG removals by sinks, in period t; tCO,e

LKt = GHG emissions due to leakage, in period t; %

9.9 Selva carbon credits

9.10 Monitoring plan

The monitoring plan shall provide for collection of all relevant data necessary for:

(a) Verification that the applicability conditions listed under paragraphs 3 and 4 have been met;

(b) Verification of changes in carbon stocks in the pools selected; and

(c) Verification of project emissions and leakage emissions.

The data collected shall be archived for a period of at least two years after the end of the last crediting period of the project activity.