Quantifying soil organic carbon sequestration performance of the City of Calgary Willow Biomass and Marginal Land Reclamation Demonstration Project: Assessing potential provincial carbon emissions offset credit opportunities

The emerging emissions trading market provides the province of Alberta an opportunity to diversify its economy and drive climate change mitigation innovation. By improving the efficiency of earning carbon credits, more economic opportunities and carbon sequestration industrial applications are feasible. The City of Calgary Dewatered Biosolids Land Application – Willow Biomass and Marginal Land Reclamation Demonstration Project represents part of the first wave of large-scale biologically driven greenhouse gas management innovation. In this case, SOC sequestration is a beneficial by-product of sustainable waste management practices. However in the future, when potential projects and opportunities are more deliberately assessed on the bases of their sustainable development merits, triple-bottom-line scores, carbon emissions trading value, and measurable soil fertility restoration improvements, their SOC sequestration potential may be just the added value needed to tip the balance towards approving biogenic projects and further developing climate change mitigation and sustainable development technologies.

Faculty Supervisor:

Stephen Murphy

Student:

Chelsey Greene

Partner:

SYLVIS Environmental Services

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

Program: