Food and Agriculture Organization

Soil Carbon Monitoring Using Surveys and Modelling Food and Agriculture Organization

This publication describes the application of survey- and modelling-based methods for monitoring soil organic carbon stock and its changes on a national scale. The report presents i) a design of the first inventory of soil organic carbon, including discussion on factors that affect the reliability of carbon stock estimates; and ii) a design of a modelling-based approach, including links to national forest inventory data and discussion on alternative soilorganic carbon models. Both approaches can provide necessary information on soil carbon changes for a national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory.