Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MARVIC (Developing and testing a framework for the design of harmonized, context-specific Monitoring, Reporting and Verification systems for soil Carbon and greenhouse gas balances by Agricultural activities)
Reporting period: 2023-06-01 to 2024-11-30
MARVIC is a Horizon Europe Soil Mission project supporting the EU Carbon Removal & Carbon Farming Certification (CRCF) Regulation, which is crucial in scaling up carbon removal activities and boosting faith in European carbon farming (CF) schemes. MARVIC’s main goal is to develop and test a framework for the design of harmonized, context-specific Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems for assessing soil carbon stock changes and GHG emissions in agriculture. These MRV systems should include three core features: i) alignment with CRCF regulation, ii) balancing costs and accuracy, iii) accounting for non-permanence risks. Focusing on four Land Use x Soil Types (LUSTs)—arable land, grassland, agroforestry/woody crops and managed peatland, the MRV framework will be tested across 26 test cases in 12 European countries. By developing and testing this framework, MARVIC aims to strengthen trust in European public and private CF schemes and provide a standardized approach for designing MRV systems.
Develop a framework for designing context-specific MRV systems.
A detailed analysis of existing MRV systems was performed, focusing on five quality criteria: baseline, additionality, permanence, leakage, and double counting. These criteria are fundamental to the effectiveness and credibility of any CF certification framework. Each criterion was further refined by analysing the options and comparing them in terms of accuracy, cost, fairness, and acceptability for farmers. The analysis of current MRV systems and the development of draft rules and guiding principles were regularly shared and discussed among partners, contributing to a shared understanding of CF and clarifying how the MARVIC scientific community can address CRCF needs.
Identification, improvement, development and pre-assembly of MRV building blocks.
Robust and cost-efficient MRV systems need smart assembly of data and models. We hereby distinguish between the phase of MRV development and the phase of up-scaling, when MRV systems are applied at the farm or regional scale. Efficient strategies for data collection across multiple scales to meet multiple MRV purposes were developed, more specifically by a) developing a metadata sourcebook of available datasets needed for MRV, b) creating metadata datasets of benchmark sites (BS) for model calibration and validation, c) developing decision trees and guidelines to support smart soil sampling, d) reviewing remote sensing solutions and establishing a smart biomass sampling protocol to calibrate and validate models with RS assimilation, e) launching a survey to inventory and categorize farm data based on accessibility and interoperability. A model catalogue was created to consolidate information on soil and ecosystem models and evaluate their suitability for building Operational Processing Chains (OPCs) to monitor soil organic carbon and GHG emissions. In collaboration with ORCaSa, 2 international workshops were held to discuss a harmonized MRV framework and a decision tree for cropland—serving as a basis for other LUSTs. A tool was developed to match BS with models, enabling initial testing, improvement, and development of various models and OPCs. Finally, a draft guideline was delivered to a) assess model suitability, b) conduct model calibration and validation, and c) manage parameters and input data for uncertainty and sensitivity analyses to reduce error propagation.
Assessing the mitigation potential of CF practices and the impact of climate change.
A comprehensive assessment of the mitigation potential and uncertainties of CF practices in 5 key agricultural systems: peatlands, arable lands, grasslands, woody crops and agroforestry, was made and reported. The results were used in a first analysis of how these practices affect cumulative radiative forcing and temperature effects, indicating that even temporary carbon removals can contribute to net climate benefits. For the selected CF practices a start was made to collect data and quantification approaches for EU-wide spatially explicit mitigation potential maps. Finally, a protocol was developed for climate change modelling with process-based models (Landscape DNDC, DayCent, and ECOSSE), which comprises the definitions of scenarios and regions for analysis.
Socio-economic feasibility of CF practices and MRV systems.
Guidelines for assessments of operational and opportunity costs of CF practices and MRV systems were developed for test cases, and subsequent use for economic models. Experiences from the literature are sampled for an analysis of the financial mechanisms to incentivize CF and MRV, and workshops and surveys are planned for and tested to retrieve information on stakeholders’ perceptions on carbon removal certification standards and MRV, investigating trust, risk and uncertainties.
Connecting to policy, science and the wider stakeholder community.
A Communication, Dissemination, and Exploitation strategy was defined to enhance MARVIC’s visibility and impact through websites, newsletters and webinars. In addition, MARVIC fosters synergies with other projects and initiatives and has prepared the setup of 3 End-user forums—Policy, Market, and Climate advocacy—to explore the needs of the specific end-users regarding MRV systems. The project is actively supporting the development of the CRCF regulation.
A detailed analysis of existing MRV systems was performed, focusing on five quality criteria: baseline, additionality, permanence, leakage, and double counting. These criteria are fundamental to the effectiveness and credibility of any CF certification framework. Each criterion was further refined by analysing the options and comparing them in terms of accuracy, cost, fairness, and acceptability for farmers. The analysis of current MRV systems and the development of draft rules and guiding principles were regularly shared and discussed among partners, contributing to a shared understanding of CF and clarifying how the MARVIC scientific community can address CRCF needs.
Identification, improvement, development and pre-assembly of MRV building blocks.
Robust and cost-efficient MRV systems need smart assembly of data and models. We hereby distinguish between the phase of MRV development and the phase of up-scaling, when MRV systems are applied at the farm or regional scale. Efficient strategies for data collection across multiple scales to meet multiple MRV purposes were developed, more specifically by a) developing a metadata sourcebook of available datasets needed for MRV, b) creating metadata datasets of benchmark sites (BS) for model calibration and validation, c) developing decision trees and guidelines to support smart soil sampling, d) reviewing remote sensing solutions and establishing a smart biomass sampling protocol to calibrate and validate models with RS assimilation, e) launching a survey to inventory and categorize farm data based on accessibility and interoperability. A model catalogue was created to consolidate information on soil and ecosystem models and evaluate their suitability for building Operational Processing Chains (OPCs) to monitor soil organic carbon and GHG emissions. In collaboration with ORCaSa, 2 international workshops were held to discuss a harmonized MRV framework and a decision tree for cropland—serving as a basis for other LUSTs. A tool was developed to match BS with models, enabling initial testing, improvement, and development of various models and OPCs. Finally, a draft guideline was delivered to a) assess model suitability, b) conduct model calibration and validation, and c) manage parameters and input data for uncertainty and sensitivity analyses to reduce error propagation.
Assessing the mitigation potential of CF practices and the impact of climate change.
A comprehensive assessment of the mitigation potential and uncertainties of CF practices in 5 key agricultural systems: peatlands, arable lands, grasslands, woody crops and agroforestry, was made and reported. The results were used in a first analysis of how these practices affect cumulative radiative forcing and temperature effects, indicating that even temporary carbon removals can contribute to net climate benefits. For the selected CF practices a start was made to collect data and quantification approaches for EU-wide spatially explicit mitigation potential maps. Finally, a protocol was developed for climate change modelling with process-based models (Landscape DNDC, DayCent, and ECOSSE), which comprises the definitions of scenarios and regions for analysis.
Socio-economic feasibility of CF practices and MRV systems.
Guidelines for assessments of operational and opportunity costs of CF practices and MRV systems were developed for test cases, and subsequent use for economic models. Experiences from the literature are sampled for an analysis of the financial mechanisms to incentivize CF and MRV, and workshops and surveys are planned for and tested to retrieve information on stakeholders’ perceptions on carbon removal certification standards and MRV, investigating trust, risk and uncertainties.
Connecting to policy, science and the wider stakeholder community.
A Communication, Dissemination, and Exploitation strategy was defined to enhance MARVIC’s visibility and impact through websites, newsletters and webinars. In addition, MARVIC fosters synergies with other projects and initiatives and has prepared the setup of 3 End-user forums—Policy, Market, and Climate advocacy—to explore the needs of the specific end-users regarding MRV systems. The project is actively supporting the development of the CRCF regulation.
MARVIC’s main outcome will be a framework for the design of context-specific MRV systems for CF. During RP1, key deliverables have been developed as critical components of the MRV framework, including the MARVIC metadata catalogue, benchmark datasets for model calibration and validation, decision trees for soil sampling, a remote-sensing-guided smart biomass sampling approach, draft model catalogue, and draft methodological framework for Operational Processing Chains. Additionally, MARVIC analysed the mitigation potential and uncertainties of CF practices across five key agricultural systems. Moreover, methodological guidelines were provided for data collection and cost assessment of CF and MRV methodologies.
MARVIC’s (preliminary) insights are actively feeding into the development of the CRCF regulation by providing four policy recommendations addressing baselines, double counting, and the minimum requirements for the use of models in MRV systems, and giving reflections on the CRCF methodology for mineral soils with a focus on soil sampling.
The project organized joint workshops and thematic webinars to engage broader stakeholders, and collaborated closely with initiatives like ORCaSa, Credible, EJP Soil, MRV4SOC, JRC, and SoilWise, thereby extending MARVIC’s longer-term strategies for implementation and continuous improvement of the designed MRV Framework.
MARVIC’s (preliminary) insights are actively feeding into the development of the CRCF regulation by providing four policy recommendations addressing baselines, double counting, and the minimum requirements for the use of models in MRV systems, and giving reflections on the CRCF methodology for mineral soils with a focus on soil sampling.
The project organized joint workshops and thematic webinars to engage broader stakeholders, and collaborated closely with initiatives like ORCaSa, Credible, EJP Soil, MRV4SOC, JRC, and SoilWise, thereby extending MARVIC’s longer-term strategies for implementation and continuous improvement of the designed MRV Framework.