Decode 6, a program from the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), collectively known as the Tri-Societies, hosted a symposium at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting. “Charting the Course of Soil Carbon Modeling” brought together government, industry and research professionals to discuss the future of carbon modeling and agricultural carbon markets. Last year, FFAR and Tri-Societies invested $200,000 to build and expand the Tri-Societies’ new educational website, Decode 6. This free, informative website–named for carbon, the sixth element on the periodic table–provides resources in carbon and ecosystem services and their respective markets for the agricultural and environmental sectors.
This SSSA Cross-Divisional Symposium sought to inform its members and foster discussion about soil carbon modeling and its role in emissions and agricultural carbon markets. The symposium highlighted the important role members of the Societies play in contributing to the long-term success of agriculture and its role in supporting clean air and healthy soil.
The SSSA Cross-Divisional Symposium convened thought leaders in the soil carbon modeling space who discussed current capabilities and future directions for measuring, reporting and verifying soil carbon. Symposium attendees heard from leading model developers from government, academic and industry perspectives, with an emphasis on the current state of soil carbon modeling and implications for the future of the science in practice. In providing a forum for members of these groups to present both current knowledge and the needs of these diverse stakeholders moving forward, this Symposium served as a forum for discussion and helped create alignment for the future of soil carbon modeling at scale and in practice.