Carbon storage in land use systems, such as forestry, agroforestry, agriculture and green urban areas, offers great potential for CO₂– emissions offset and, at the same time, for improving local climate and the environment. Knowing and understanding this potential allows for the design of adapted, regenerative strategies that lead to more climate resistant and more productive land use systems, and create new ways of sustainable project funding for land owners and land managers.

BioGrowth Development uses a broad range of data processing and analytical tools to quantify the potential of carbon storage in different land use systems. This can be done for plant biomass (above- and belowground organic matter, dead or alive) or for the soil organic carbon content (SOC).

Tracing biogenic carbon from its origins to end-use products

Lignocellulosic biomaterials (e.g. wood-based products, natural insulation products), biochemicals and biofuels contain a measurable amount of carbon that was originally captured as CO₂ during  photosynthesis by growing trees and plants. In this process, plants provide us natural carbon-rich feedstocks that can be harvested and used to manufacture bio-based products. Many known natural feedstocks are globally traded soft commodities (e.g. wood, cotton). They may, however, also be derived from locally sourced residues and by-products from land use systems or bio-based value chains. This so called biogenic carbon can be stored for many years in long-lived end-use applications, like constructions, furniture, clothing, etc.

BioGrowth Development can quantify the biogenic CO₂-equivalent and the greenhouse gas emissions offset potential of a vast range of natural feedstocks (e.g. lumber, wood chips, flax, hemp, agricultural and forestry residues, etc.) and of derived bio-based materials with a short or long service-life (e.g. constructions, textile, packaging, bioplastics, etc.). In the case of biofuel and shorter-lived biomaterial applications, biogenic carbon can equally be traced back to the land-use system and its (fossil) CO₂-offset potential can be quantified as well.

Analyses of the carbon storage potential are of key importance in sustainable land use and biobased product development projects, either for impact assessments, i.e. to gain insight into the relationships between carbon sinks (in soils, biomaterials) and other ecosystem services, or for getting the projects certified and generating carbon credits.

BioGrowth Development offers clients a streamlined, stepwise support process, from identifying the potential until the implementation and continuous monitoring of carbon storage in plants, soils and bio-based products, including forecasting future growth and accumulation of carbon.