Literature review•Global
Soil carbon evidence synthesis for a global confectionery company
Structured review of the published evidence on soil carbon dynamics in cocoa systems to inform a multinational's sustainability roadmap.
ENGINEERING•CONSULTING•RESEARCH
Independent Scientific Consulting for Soils, Carbon, and Agroforestry
Ekodama is an independent scientific consulting practice focused on soils, soil health, soil carbon, agroforestry, and sustainable land systems. We help clients design robust approaches, generate credible evidence, and translate complex land-system questions into usable decisions.
Why Ekodama•Approach
Rooted in science. Built for decisions
We combine field experience, research-grade methods, and visual-analytical craft to bridge complex science and real-world implementation.
Sometimes we deliver a project directly at our scale; sometimes we step in as a specialist scientific advisor to a larger program your team is already running with another service provider. Either way (whether you're designing a rigorous field experiment, establishing a soil carbon baseline, or trying to understand how a complex land system actually behaves)our role is to make the science sound, usable, and grounded in your situation.
Services•Seven practice areas
Expertise & Services
Combining field research, analytical methods, and strategic consulting, delivered directly at our scale or as a specialist scientific advisor on a larger program your team is running.
01
Soil Health Evaluation
We help design and interpret soil health evaluations, from comprehensive studies to focused assessments, combining field, laboratory, and research-grade methods. We can deliver this at our scale, or act as scientific advisor to a larger program your team is running.
02
Soil Carbon & Biomass Assessment
We support credible soil carbon baselines and tree or plant biomass estimation, aligned with the GHG Protocol Land Use Removals guidance and with the practical reality of supplier programs. We also review existing or planned sampling campaigns — soil or tree — to assess whether the design, depth, bulk density, and uncertainty approach meet the requirements of carbon accounting, not agronomic monitoring alone.
03
Farm & System Analysis
We build farm-system models, short-term or long-term, that crystallize how different management choices translate into emissions, removals, yields, and system trade-offs.
Experimental & Sampling Design
Bespoke Tools & Technical Communication
Scientific & Technical Training
Scientific Literature Review & Decision Briefs
Recent projects•Selected work
Recent consulting projects and research collaborations
A representative view of recent work with major agri-food companies and scientific institutions.
Multi-faceted study•Colombia
Large modern cocoa plantation: soil, carbon & agronomy
Integrated assessment of soil health, carbon stocks, and agronomic performance across a large commercial cocoa plantation in Colombia.
Tool development•Global
Decision-support tooling for a regenerative agriculture programme
Custom quantitative tool built to help programme managers evaluate practice changes, soil carbon outcomes, and farmer-level economics.
Field experiment•Brazil
Cocoa and fruit farm field experiment
Design and implementation of a rigorous on-farm experimental protocol for an integrated cocoa-and-fruit system in Brazil.
Protocol development•Indonesia
MRV protocol for a private research centre in Indonesia
Development of a defensible measurement, reporting and verification protocol for a private agronomic research centre.
Tool development•Global
Field Atlas — A Map of Soil Science
An interactive cartography of soil science — 10 zones, ~85 disciplines, and 8 cross-cutting themes. Pannable, zoomable, bilingual.
Insights
Practical lessons and other insightful reflections.
Signal versus Noise: When a Soil Carbon Change Is Real
SOC change detection is governed by an inequality between a small management signal (typically 0.1 to 0.5 Mg C/ha/yr) and a noise floor with three components. Two interactive diagrams let the reader move the dials, and the article maps the math to the 2026 MRV regimes (Verra VM0042 v3.0, the GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard, EU 2024/3012).
Is Soil Inorganic Carbon Critical to Include in Your Soil Carbon Accounting?
Under the GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard effective 1 January 2027, the soil carbon pool explicitly includes inorganic carbon. A scenario-by-scenario decision rule for when SIC is material, how an unmeasured SIC trend can mask the SOC signal, and what the analytical workflow has to look like.
A Few Trees Hold Most of the Carbon: Why Remnants and Giants Matter in Cocoa Agroforestry
On tropical farms, a small number of large and remnant trees can dominate carbon stocks. Ignoring them distorts science, farm design, and carbon accounting alike.
How Large Should Your Soil Carbon Sampling Campaign Be?
Sample size is a consequence, not a starting point. Fix the scale of inference first, ground variance in published data, commit to 0–60 cm and ESM accounting, and design to the MRV standard your buyer will be audited against.
How to Calculate the Amount of Carbon in a Tree? Methods, Uncertainty, and Accounting
The full accounting chain: from DBH and wood density to a defensible confidence interval. Allometric bias, the retired 0.47 carbon fraction, the Monte Carlo uncertainty budget, and what the 2026 LSR, CCP, and CRCF regimes now demand.
How Do You Model Soil Carbon Change Over Time?
RothC, AMG, Century, DayCent: four models, four different questions they answer best. A decision framework for choosing the right soil carbon model for the claim you need to defend.
Work with us
Let's connect
Interested in collaborating on soil carbon research, agroforestry consulting, or scientific communication projects? Tell us about your project and we will come back to you with a clear, honest first response.