Carbon Offset Success Stories

Reforestation Carbon Offset Project: Flood Prone Farm Fields

This carbon offset reforestation project converted over 70 acres of marginal cropland in Coshocton County and in Guernsey County, Ohio to permanent woodland. The former cropland is located near Wills Creek and is in the Wills Creek Lake floodplain. The fields were often wet and flooded, resulting in frequent crop losses due to excess moisture and flooding. When flooding did occur, it washed off any agricultural products and byproducts, including but not limited to pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizer. 

The decision was made that it would be better for the local ecosystem, the environment in general, and for the landowner to convert this land into a permanent stand of hardwood trees. The site was prepared by removing debris and driftwood and controlling weeds. Subsequently, bareroot trees were planted across the entire plot area at approximately 680 trees per acre.

To download a PDF of the Reforestation Project Summary Document, feel free to click the download link below:

Project Summary 2005

Project/Subproject

Project Acreage

# of Trees

Carbon Offset on Marginal Farmland

 

 

Section A

11.83

8100

Section B

12.92

8800

Section C

6.54

4500

Section D

18.27

13500

Section E

22.11

15500

Totals

71.7

50400

Before/After Comparison

This planting project took place in 2005, and it is clearly visible from the photos below that the planted trees are growing very well. In the satellite image below, one can compare the reforested crop field (in green with visible rows of trees, center-left) with the flooded and damp crop field (right of center).

Reforestation Project Field
One of the fields from the reforestation project, compare with the partially flooded crop field on the right.

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Reforestation of Reclaimed Strip Mine 2017-2018

This carbon offset success story details a project that converted 35 acres of reclaimed strip mine in Guernsey County, Ohio to permanent woodland. The site was prepared by removing debris, controlling weeds, and planting bareroot trees and shrubs of mixed species to emulate the natural ecosystem before mining operations took place on this land. The site was prepared in 2017 and planted in early 2018. Trees were planted at a density of 680 trees/acre to yield a total of 23,800 trees. All trees were planted by hand, while site preparation used a combination of hand labor and heavy equipment.

Project Summary
Project/SubprojectProject Acreage# of Trees
Strip Mine Reforestation35.023800

For a PDF version of this Carbon Offset Project Summary, click the download link below.

Carbon Offset Project Map Tree Planting Map carbon offset success story
Tree Planting for Farmers - Carbon Offset Ohio carbon offset success story
A portion of the planted area the year after planting, soon the trees will emerge above the grasses

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Carbon Offset Project on Former Pasture

This carbon offset success story details a project that converted over 28.9 acres of former cattle pasture in Coshocton County, Ohio to permanent woodland. In places this land is steep and it experienced significant erosion when grazed short and trampled by cattle. Additionally, part of the land included in this project is on a reclaimed strip mine, which compounded erosion and runoff issues.

The decision was made that it would be better for the local ecosystem, the environment in general, and for the landowner to convert this land into a permanent stand of hardwood trees. The site was prepared by removing debris and driftwood and controlling weeds. Subsequently, bareroot trees were planted across the entire plot area at approximately 680 trees per acre. For this project, all trees were planted by hand.  

If you would like a PDF version of the information on this page, feel free to click the download link below:

Project Summary

Project/Subproject

Project Acreage

# of Trees

Reforestation of Former Pasture

 

 

Section A

18.7

12700

Section B

10.3

7000

Totals

28.9

19700

Before/After Comparison

This planting project took place in 2002, and it is clearly visible from the photo below that the planted trees are growing very well. In the satellite image below, one can compare the pasture with areas that were not planted in trees at the time of the project.

carbon offset project before and after carbon offset success story
A comparison of former pasture that was planted in trees as part of the carbon offset project (bordered with a thin blue line, all trees in this image) and areas of the pasture that were not planted (red circles).

Click here to view the full details of this carbon offset success story!

How do carbon offsets work? – The Washington Post