Kelp Forest to Biochar Pathway

Methodology overview

Hybrid methodology combining kelp aquaculture with pyrolysis-based biochar production for durable carbon removal. Integrates biological growth with engineered permanence.

Eligibility criteria

• ●Target habitat is verifiably degraded, lost, or in measurable decline against a defensible reference state.
• ●Site has biophysical feasibility (substrate, water quality, temperature regime, larval supply) supported by site-specific surveys.
• ●Project owner or partner holds use rights for the full crediting period plus a 10-year post-credit monitoring window.
• ●Non-carbon function indicators (rugosity, structural complexity, density, biodiversity) are baselined before any restoration intervention.
• ●No translocation of non-native genotypes; provenance documentation required for all transplanted material.
• ●Permanence Option C applied — buffer drawn down at issuance and topped up against site-specific reversal triggers.
• ●Crediting unit is MCC-MCU or MCC-HYB, never carbon-only — function gain, not tCO2e, is the primary unit.

Quantification approach

Carbon pools and crediting metrics

• ●Standing biomass (kelp blades, coral skeletal mass, oyster shell mass) — reported but credited only as co-benefit
• ●Sediment carbon under structure (oyster reefs only, where measurable above noise)
• ●Function-equivalent units (FEUs) — primary crediting metric, not a carbon pool

Equations (in plain language)

• 1.FEU change = (post-intervention function score) minus (baseline function score), normalised to a reference-state ceiling.
• 2.Function score is a weighted composite of habitat extent, structural complexity (rugosity / vertical relief), key-species density and trophic indicator.
• 3.Where biomass-derived carbon is co-claimed, it is reported separately and counted only if remote sensing or in-situ measurement validates the gain.
• 4.Reversal: any loss of more than 20% of FEUs against the prior verification triggers a buffer pool draw plus a public reversal disclosure.

Reference methodology — starting point

Reference points include the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology, the Society for Ecological Restoration International Standards (2nd edition), and IPCC Wetland Supplement methods for the small carbon side-claim. These are starting references being improved upon — MCC F02 differs by crediting function, not carbon proxies.

Where MCC improves on the reference

• ✓Function-first crediting unit (FEU) rather than carbon-equivalent fudge factors.
• ✓Mandatory provenance and genotype documentation for transplant material.
• ✓Reversal threshold (20% FEU loss) is hard-coded into the methodology, not left to verifier discretion.
• ✓AI-assisted side-scan sonar and Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry analysis for rugosity and extent.

Monitoring requirements

Required data sources

• ●Sentinel-2 — kelp canopy extent, quarterly (where canopy reaches surface)
• ●Side-scan sonar / multibeam — biennial extent and rugosity for sub-surface habitats
• ●Diver belt-transect surveys — annual key-species density and percent cover
• ●SfM photogrammetry — annual 3-D habitat reconstruction at fixed stations
• ●Environmental DNA (eDNA) — annual, paired site / control
• ●Continuous temperature and pH loggers at minimum 2 stations per project

KPIs that must be tracked

Eligible co-benefits — SDG mapping

F-family F02 contributes to the following Sustainable Development Goals. Indicators flagged as required must be reported at every verification; optional indicators may be claimed where the project chooses to report them.

Public consultation and community engagement

30-day public consultation is mandatory. Local fisher and dive-operator engagement is a separate required workstream — not a sub-set of public consultation. A community benefit-sharing schedule must be published before issuance.

Methodology change log