The document discusses several initiatives related to monitoring and assessing soil organic carbon led by the Global Soil Partnership's Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils, including: 1. A Monitoring, Reporting and Verification Protocol to assess soil organic carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural lands. 2. An interpretation document for the Global Soil Organic Carbon map to provide guidance on its uses and relationship to climate change and food security decisions. 3. Plans to update the Global Soil Organic Carbon map to version 1.6 in 2020 and release a new Global Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration Potential map to estimate sequestration under different soil management scenarios.

1. ITPS working group
on Soil Organic
Carbon

2. MRV Protocol
GSOC-MRV - Monitoring, Reporting and Verification
Protocol to Assess Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration
and Greenhouse Emissions in Agricultural Landscapes

4. • Is one of the recommendations of the Global Symposium
on Soil Organic Carbon in 2017 as follow-up to provide
feasible and regionally contextualized guidelines for
monitoring, reporting and verification of SOC stocks and
changes.
• The protocol consists in a series of step-by-step stages and
sub-protocols in order to assess SOC changes and GHG
emissions/removals from the adoption of SSM practices.
• Farm-scale, only applicable for eligible pieces of land
inside Farms and activities, minimum 8 years duration to
be applicable, general methodology, 6 Key Stages.
Main aspects

5. ITPS IN THE PROCESS
• Final draft by the MRV-Working group and the GSP
Secretariat circulated among ITPS early 2020.
Main discussion and agreement during the SOC-Working
group meeting in April 2020:
• It was discussed to clarify concepts such as
additionality, baseline, permanent vegetation; include
the possibility of using remote sensing techniques; to
include sampling equipment, etc.
• Endorsement of the document by the ITPS in April.

6. GSOCmap interpretation
GSOCmap interpretation document as part of the implementation of the
recommendations resulting from the Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon
(GSOC’17)

7. • The sixth GSP Plenary Assembly underlined the need
for more information in regards to the uncertainty
estimation of the GSOCmap as well as the potential
interpretation of the map.
• The GSP in collaboration with the ITPS prepared the
GSOCmap interpretation document as a useful tool for
decision makers and people interested in
understanding the potential uses of the map and the
relationship of the information contained with
decision-making regarding climate change mitigation
and adaptation, degradation and food security.
Main aspects

8. • Final draft circulated in February 2020 and was revised
by ITPS including expert external reviewers.
Main discussion and agreement during the SOC-Working
group meeting in April 2020:
• Some terms regarding soil taxonomy were discussed,
some final details of more ad hoc content were
adjusted in tables and maps (i.e., SOC stocks per IPCC
climate regions instead of SOC stocks per ecozone) and
some doubts and terms were clarified.
• Endorsement of the document by the ITPS in April.
ITPS IN THE PROCESS

9. GSOCmap Interpretation - Croplands

10. GSOCmap Interpretation - Black Soil Areas

11. GSOCmap Interpretation - Circumpolar Area

12. GSOCmap – It’s Evolving
GSOCmap v1.0
•2017
•71 National
Maps
•1 Million
Ground Data
GSOCmap v1.2
•2018
•75 National
Maps
•1 Million
Ground Data
GSOCmap v1.5
•2019
•85 National
Submissions
•1.1 Million
Ground Data
GSOCmap v1.6
•Q3 2020
•Improved
gap filling
•New national
maps
• GSOCmap is being updated to V1.6
• 2020 GSP Stocktaking Exercise revealed that GSOCmap is one of the flagship
products of the GSP & ITPS.
• Approval rate (usefulness, popularity) of GSOCmap is 76% (48% very useful,
28% useful)
• The version is under preparation and will be released in 2020

13. SOC MANUAL
Best soil management practices for SOC maintenance
and sequestration: A technical manual

14. • +70 authors on board (about 30 are new)
• Already 26 planed case-studies (more to
come)
• Submission by 30 June
• Final document about 1,000 pages
• Peer review : August 2020
• Expected publication : December 2020 as
part of RECSOIL series
Main aspects
CHALLENGE :
Almost half of the authors are missing for practice documents
ALL THE
DOCUMENTS ARE
ON TRELLO

15. • Scientific board : Rosa Poch and David Lobb (tbc) as main relay, but
all ITPS involved in the official review (August 2020);
 Especially, ITPS members expected to review at least case-studies issued
from their region
• Missing authors : provide names of experts who might be able to
develop some “practice” or “hot-spot” documents for the sections
that miss authors, or propose to develop some practice documents;
 To date very few suggestions were provided (4 feedbacks received)
• Provide names or share interesting case-studies (Interested
Members)
ITPS IN THE PROCESS
Main discussion and agreements from the SOC-WG meeting (April 2020) :

16. Global Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration
Potential Map
GSOCseq

17. • Is one of the recommendations of the Global
Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon in 2017 as
follow-up to utilize the global soil organic carbon
map (GSOCmap).
• GSOCseq was requested by member countries
during the sixth GSP Plenary Assembly in 2018.
Main aspects

18. Framework: Estimation of SOC sequestration after adoption of SSM
practices through standardized SOC models and procedures
Low increases in C inputs
(SSM1 scenario)
Medium increases in C inputs
(SSM2 scenario)
High increases in C inputs
(SSM3 scenario)
Main aspects

19. • Concept Note - 2019
• GSOCseq Technical Specifications and Country Guidelines
developed by the GSP Secretariat and the Pillar 4 WG in spring
2020 and Reviewed by several technical panels (UNCCD-SPI,
4P100, CIRCASA)
• Final draft revised by ITPS (SOC-Working group ) and P4WG,
April 2020
• INSII review is ongoing (to be endorsed by end of May 2020)
and will be published in June 2020.
ITPS IN THE PROCESS

20. Position paper on SOC
• ITPS requested the GSP Secretariat to prepare a zero draft about
the feasibility of SOC sequestration. Final draft circulated in
March 2020 and was revised by ITPS including expert external
reviewers.
Main discussion and agreement during the SOC-Working group
meeting in April 2020
• It was agreed to generate a new draft that includes information
regarding GSOCseq and supporting case studies, and political
and social constraints, and how ITPS, as an advisory/scientific
body proposes to overcome them to policy makers.
• Chair & Co-chair appointed
• Lucia Anjos, Brazil (Chair)
• Fernando Garcia, Uruguay (Co-chair)

21. During the SOC-Working group meeting in April 2020
it was agreed to appoint new Chairs to co-lead/co-
chair the working group, by unanimous decision it
was assigned to:
Other important aspects
slides 18-19 To be merged into one