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Acorn (Agroforestry CRUs for the Organic Restoration of Nature)
Provider
Plan Vivo
Availability
It is worth noting that as of March 2024, the Acorn methodology is undergoing updates that are expected to be published during 2024.
Description
This methodology is used to measure GHG emission removals resulting from the planting of trees on smallholder farmers’ land. The GHG removals are measured using remote sensing technology. Tree planting activities following this methodology will apply the Acorn methodology to generate CRUs, which are a form of carbon credits.
Application
Tree planting activities on smallholders’ land anywhere in the world that want to generate Acorn’s carbon removal units (CRUs).
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Afforestation and Reforestation on Degraded Lands, v1.2
Provider
ACR
Availability
Published May 2017
Description
The ACR methodology for Afforestation and Reforestation (A/R) on Degraded Lands quantify, monitor, report, and verify GHG emissions removals in (A/R) projects. The methodology is a revision of the UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Methodology AR-ACM0001 to include accounting for harvested wood products as well as the incorporation of Forest Vegetation Simulator as an approved tool to estimate carbon stock changes. Projects following this methodology can generate carbon credits under ACR based on the volume of GHG emissions removed by A/R activities.
Application
Afforestation and reforestation projects on lands in non-REDD+ countries that are expected to remain degraded or continue to degrade in the absence of the project and that want to generate carbon credits under the ACR.
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Afforestation and Reforestation Protocol, v11
Provider
City Forest Credits
Availability
Published February 2023
Description
This methodology quantifies the volume of GHG emission mitigation resulting from planting trees or restoring treed areas in urban environments in the United States. The methodology can apply to projects aimed at planting street trees or planting or restoring urban park areas with denser canopy than on urban streets. Projects following this methodology can generate City Forest Carbon Forward Removal Credits, which are based on how much carbon dioxide trees in in the project are forecasted to store in year 26 of the project. At that time, the credits are converted to expost credits.
Application
Afforestation and reforestation projects in urban areas in the United States that want to generate carbon credits.
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Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation, v0.1
Provider
BioCarbon Standard
Availability
Published February 2024
Description
This methodology quantifies and monitors the GHG emission removals associated with projects engaged in afforestation, reforestation, revegetation, and restoration activities. Activities can include changes to agricultural practices or landscape management, agroforestry, and restoration, rehabilitation, or recuperation of degraded ecosystems. The methodology is based on the Clean Development Mechanism methodology “AR-ACM0003 A/R Large-Scale Consolidated Methodology. Afforestation and reforestation of lands except wetlands. Version 2.0 AR.” Projects following this methodology can generate carbon credits that will be managed by the Global CarbonTrace Platform, which uses blockchain technology to track transactions.
Application
Afforestation, reforestation, or revegetation projects anywhere in the world that want to generate carbon credits through BioCarbon Standard and are taking place on land that is not already defined as a forest, nor as non-forest natural ecosystem such as wetlands.
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Agriculture and Forestry Carbon Benefit Assessment Methodology, v1.0
Provider
Plan Vivo
Availability
Published November 2023
Description
This methodology is used to measure net GHG emission reductions resulting from a range of activities that take place on forest land, cropland, grassland, or forested wetlands. The methodology is specifically applicable to smallholder and community forestry projects. Activities can include afforestation, reforestation, forest restoration, improved forest management, and agroforestry or farm forestry. Activities are ineligible if they impact the groundwater table. Projects following this methodology will apply different Plan Vivo approved modules and tools to generate Plan Vivo Certificates (PVCs), which are a form of carbon credits.
Application
Smallholder agriculture and community forestry projects anywhere in the world that want to generate Plan Vivo Certificates (PVCs).
ArcMap/ArcGIS Pro
Use this tool to
Draw a boundary polygon to delineate your restoration monitoring area (requires an ArcMap or ArcGISPro license)
End Product(s)
A boundary polygon in the form of an Esri shapefile or Esri File Geodatabase File
ArcMap (ArcGIS Desktop) and ArcGIS Pro are desktop-based Geographic Information System (GIS) applications, created by Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri). Both provide similar functionality for drawing, editing, and exporting polygons in multiple file formats. They are powerful tools for drawing, editing, and customizing polygons, among many other capabilities. Both applications require a paid license.
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AURORA (Assessment, Understanding, and Reporting of Restoration Actions
Use this tool to
Select priority restoration monitoring indicators based on restoration objectives; assess the quality of the indicators; report progress against those indicators
End Product(s)
Customized framework of restoration targets and indicators; downloadable PDF report of restoration progress of each indicator towards its target.
AURORA is a decision-support tool that helps users identify indicators and metrics to monitor progress toward their restoration goals. The interactive web application guides users through basic questions about their restoration objectives, priorities, goals, and constraints. After following the step-by-step process in the app, the user will have: (1) a set of indicators and metrics that reflect their priority restoration goals; (2) baseline and target values for the selected indicators and metrics (as input by the user using external sources of data); and (3) a reporting framework that combines the selected indicators and metrics into a score of restoration progress.
Collect Earth/Collect Earth Online
Use this tool to
Visually assess and record tree cover, landcover, and other variables for user-selected sample plots using freely available, high-resolution satellite imagery
End Product(s)
A CSV containing the metrics recorded for each sample plot.
Collect Earth and Collect Earth Online are data collection and analysis tools that are part of the OpenForis series of software tools. Collect Earth and Collect Earth Online allow users to collect data on land use/land cover, tree cover, and changes in each over time. The data collection is desk-based and draws on high- and medium-resolution satellite imagery sourced from Google Earth, Bing Maps, Google Earth Engine, and others. Collect Earth is a desktop-based app that operates within a Google Earth Pro interface, while Collect Earth Online is a fully cloud-based tool that operates within a web browser and is accessed through the Collect Earth Online webpage. In both tools, users select the plot they want to analyze and enter their observations in a customized template. The parameters of the template are defined by the user at the beginning of the assessment based on the type of information they want to collect.
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Collect Mobile
Use this tool to
Collect geolocated biophysical, socioeconomic, or biodiversity data in the field via a customizable survey
End Product(s)
Data file recording the biophysical/socioeconomic/biodiversity metrics surveyed for each geolocated sample point
Collect Mobile is an Android mobile application for field data collection that is part of the OpenForis series of software tools. With it, users can record geolocated biophysical and socioeconomic data in the field based on customized surveys. (Collect Mobile requires the use of Open Foris Collect to create these custom surveys.) Users can collect and save data while on or offline. Once collected, the data can then be exported to a local drive, sent as an email attachment, exported to the cloud as a csv file, or submitted directly to the central Collect Mobile server.
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Forest & Landscape Water Ecosystem Services (FL-WES) Tool
Use this tool to
Select and prioritize indicators to monitor forest restoration specifically focused on water-related ecosystem services.
End Product(s)
A list of restoration indicators based on your answers to a survey; recommended monitoring methods for each indicator.
The Forest & Landscape Water Ecosystem Services tool is a decision-support tool for selecting indicators to monitor restoration of forest landscapes focusing on water-related ecosystem services. The interactive web application walks the user through a guidance survey, which uses questions about context, management, budget, resources, and technical expertise to suggest priority indicators. The tool produces a short-list of indicators to prioritize, metrics for measuring those indicators, and suggested methods for collecting data on those indicators.