Landowners can sell carbon credits from their land by simply maintaining their land as is. With carbon reforestation or afforestation, landowners have the opportunity to make even more from their land! The concept of carbon reforestation involves planting trees and restoring forests as a means to earn carbon credits. You can learn how much the carbon credits on your land are worth by finding your parcel on our map and generating your free Property Report below:
How Does Reforestation Work?
Forests play a critical role in maintaining the health of our planet. All land sequesters carbon, but trees and forestland sequester the most carbon, making them extremely valuable for carbon credits. Trees get an A+ when it comes to their ability to sequester carbon, removing the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere via photosynthesis and storing it in their biomass. This above-average ability to absorb carbon makes land with trees valuable for carbon offset projects. 'Reforestation' refers to replenishing trees that were timbered, burned, etc. Reforestation can also include simply increasing the density/ amount of trees on land that already has many trees. Similarly, 'Afforestation' refers to planting trees where trees have not existed previously.
See our blog on carbon storage in American forests for more information on tree carbon sequestration.
How to Make Reforestation Profitable via Forest Carbon Credits
Your land has a value for carbon credits, which can be found when you generate your free Property Report for your parcel(s) on landgate.com. Landowners that participate in afforestation and reforestation projects can receive carbon credits which can then be sold on the forest carbon marketplace to investors and companies looking to offset carbon emissions.
The process for carbon credits via reforestation projects involves declaring how many acres you plan to set aside for planting new trees. LandGate uses extensive data to calculate the reforestation carbon sequestration potential of any parcel in the US and how much CO2 the trees will be able to store. LandGate will automatically scan all the tree types in a 10-mile radius around your parcel to identify the best tree type with the highest carbon sequestration potential over 30 years. Based on your local climate and water precipitation, LandGate will also automatically calculate the maximum density of a given tree type and the infill potential for additional trees.
By committing to a carbon reforestation project, you are agreeing to a certain easy-to-fulfill set of guidelines such as planting specific tree species, and not interfering with the growth of these trees. The natural decrease in tree density as trees grow (and how the strongest survive) is also taken into account by LandGate’s advanced calculation of carbon credits. Soils also absorb carbon, and LandGate will automatically add the carbon offsets from the soils based on the soil types, climate, and topography into your carbon credit estimate.
How Do I Sell My Carbon Credits?
LandGate can help you connect with carbon credit developers and carbon credit buyers, but we do not verify or purchase carbon credits directly. When you identify and claim ownership of your parcel on our map, we will provide a thorough carbon credit report that includes the details of the carbon offsets for all your land: acreage that already has trees, acreage that qualifies for reforestation, and the amount of carbon that is sequestered by the different soil types on your land.
The carbon offset report will provide you with an estimate of how much CO2 is currently sequestered every year by the trees and soils on your land, as well as the carbon offset potential for additional activities like carbon afforestation and reforestation. LandGate delivers the best-in-class, automated carbon offset calculations so it is easy to sell your carbon credits. Your carbon offsets are a simple commitment rather than an easement - you get paid if you fulfill the commitment. You can break the commitment, but if so, you will not receive payment. Landowners can list their carbon credits for sale for free on our website to be contacted by carbon developers and carbon credit buyers. A listing is completely free, and interested carbon groups would contact you directly with offers. You can choose what to accept; you are in complete control. To see what your land could be worth for carbon credits and to get started listing your carbon credits, generate your free Property Report today. From there, you'll have the option to create a free listing on our online marketplace!
