Why do soil carbon credits need to be certified?
Essentially to avoid fraud. Carbon in soil is difficult to measure directly, as it ordinarily requires the analysis of dozens to hundreds of soil samples (cores taken from different points across the landscape). Carbon markets like the Chicago Climate Exchange evaluate proposals that show a scientifically demonstrated connection between particular land use practices, such as rotational grazing, taking land out of agriculture, or wildlife conservation, and a change in the amount of carbon stored as organic matter in the soil.
