Carbon VCU
Prosperium's TeamGigaCarbon consists of some of the world's leading and experienced soil scientists in applying proven effective methods of carbon fixing and sequestration. One of the principle tools is the use of BEAM, a method developed by Dr. David Johnson, Adjunct Professor for the College of Agriculture at Chico State and Faculty Affiliate for the Center for Regenerative Agriculture. He is investigating the use of biological soil enhancements and its effect on carbon sequestration for the Institute of Sustainable Agricultural Research at New Mexico State University. In particular, he found that the ratio between fungi and bacteria in the soil is critical to a plant’s productivity in healthy agricultural systems and thus to a plant’s efficiency in nutrient uptake. It also increases the rate of carbon sequestration significantly.
Using BEAM, the biologically enhanced agricultural management process he developed to create fungal-dominated compost, Johnson documented that during an agricultural field study lasting 4.5 years, there was a 25-times increase in active soil fungal biomass and an annual average capture and storage of 10.27 metric tons soil C ha-1 year (approximately 38,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per acre per year). That’s 20-50 times the currently observed soil carbon increase in the 40 equivalent no-till soils tested.
Crop yields were also dramatically improved. Johnson reports that the cotton he used in his testing grew 6 feet high and produced over five bales of cotton per acre without fertilizers, herbicides or insecticides. The average in his area is about two and a half bales per acre. Australian farmers using similar methods have seen yields of 3 tons of wheat in areas that produced about 1.6 tons previously.
Using this process combined with compost and biochar, TeamGigaCarbon achieves the most cost effective and proven successful path to carbon sequestration on a massive scale. The source for this carbon is the abundant carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This process not only greatly enhances soil health and productivity but also can generate additional income in the form of VCUs or Verified Carbon Units.
Note: This website and company have no affiliation or endorsement from Dr. Johnson
Dr. Johnson believes this method of regenerating the soils holds the most promise for carbon sequestration tested. Watch Dr. Johnson speak at a seminar at Chico State giving the full background and results of his work.
Read Dr. Johnson’s white paper on atmospheric CO2 reduction in soils of agroecosystems.(PDF)
Read the documented results of some of his research: "Development of soil microbial communities for promoting sustainability in agriculture and a global carbon fix.(PDF)"
What are Verified Carbon Units?
Each Verified Carbon Unit (VCU) represents one ton of emission reductions from a specific project that has been validated and verified according to the VCS Program rules.
When corporations, governments, and individuals buy VCUs and subsequently retire the VCUs they are able to offset their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from regular activities such as transportation and building heating and cooling demand.
Entities that voluntarily seek to offset their GHG emissions footprint (such as corporations, governments and individuals), project developers, traders and investors are active participants in the VCU
Organisations such as ICROA (International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance) advocate for offsetting as a valuable complement to Paris-aligned reduction pathways. They endorse efforts by corporates to finance emissions reductions and removals through the carbon market and feel they should be recognised and rewarded. Carbon finance functions as an effective and scalable tool to achieve both environmental and social impacts.