Carbon Management Support Tool


Would you like to know what your shelterbelt's CO2 and monetary worth are?

Here is how: We compiled extensive shelterbelt data in the past 10 years of research to build an online shelterbelt carbon management support tool for maximized ecosystem carbon sequestration: 

Saskatchewan Shelterbelt Carbon Tool 

(Belt-CaT)

(click on the image below to access the Belt-CaT tool)

The Saskatchewan Shelterbelt Carbon Tool (Belt-CaT) is designed to estimate carbon stocks for existing shelterbelts, as well as to project carbon stocks for future shelterbelts. The carbon stocks are estimated for four carbon pools –  TEC (total), AbG (above-ground biomass), BwG (below-ground biomass), and DOM (dead organic matter: e.g., soil carbon), as shown in the Table and Chart outputs of the Belt-CaT tool.

The Belt-CaT tool also allows you to estimate the total CO2-equivalent within the shelterbelt and the monetary value (based on current or projected market price; the default is $15 CAD$ per tonne of CO2-eq. ) of the total carbon stocks for the shelterbelt, at any four points in time (you can enter any past or future shelterbelt age, 1-60 years). 

The tool is designed to provide accurate estimates for six common shelterbelt species:

  • caragana (CG)
  • green ash (GA)
  • hybrid poplar (HP)
  • Manitoba maple (MM)
  • Scots pine (SP)
  • white spruce(WS)
  • And, it can also be used for any other deciduous (average for GA and MM) or coniferous (average for SP and WS) species
  • Provided below is an example of the Belt-CaT tool, which you can use to practice estimating shelterbelt carbon stocks, without going through the steps of mapping the exact shelterbelt location. 
  • To produce reliable and accurate carbon estimations for your shelterbelt, please use the web application for the Belt-CaT tool by clicking on the above image, or by clicking here

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