Sustainable Watersheds for Carbon Offsets: Biomass harvesting for phosphorus capture, habitat renewal and carbon emissions reductions

The document describes a pioneered practice of harvesting cattails and other plants from water retention areas and drainage ditches to remove phosphorus, improve habitat, and create biomass for energy and bioproducts. It highlights the role of this 'unconventional' waste biomass in a circular economy by recycling nutrients and sequestering carbon in soil. The review specifically looks at global carbon markets since the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement to find verification methodologies suitable for bioeconomy projects in Manitoba and Canada.

• Harvesting cattails and other plants from drainage ditches and water retention areas provides multiple environmental benefits, including the removal of phosphorus from watersheds to prevent it from entering lakes like Lake Winnipeg, the improvement of wetland habitat and biodiversity, the reduction of flood impacts through improved flow, and the control of invasive species.
• The use of 'unconventional' waste biomass supports a circular economy and bioeconomy by converting biological waste into value-added products—such as energy, bedding, and compost—which can then be applied to land to recycle nitrogen and phosphorus and sequester carbon in the soil.

APA

,, R. G. G. V. G. (2019). Sustainable Watersheds for Carbon Offsets: Biomass harvesting for phosphorus capture, habitat renewal and carbon emissions reductions. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/sustainable-watersheds-carbon-offsets

Chicago

,, Richard Grosshans,Philip Gass,Bala Viswanathan,Lorne Grieger. Sustainable Watersheds for Carbon Offsets: Biomass harvesting for phosphorus capture, habitat renewal and carbon emissions reductions. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/publications/sustainable-watersheds-carbon-offsets.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=, |first1=Richard Grosshans,Philip Gass,Bala Viswanathan,Lorne Grieger |title=Sustainable Watersheds for Carbon Offsets: Biomass harvesting for phosphorus capture, habitat renewal and carbon emissions reductions |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=18 November 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/sustainable-watersheds-carbon-offsets |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{2019sustainable, author = {,, Richard Grosshans,Philip Gass,Bala Viswanathan,Lorne Grieger}, title = {{Sustainable Watersheds for Carbon Offsets: Biomass harvesting for phosphorus capture, habitat renewal and carbon emissions reductions}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/sustainable-watersheds-carbon-offsets}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }