A system of carbon testing grounds will be created in Russia in order to develop a technique for measuring sequestration and emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gases (methane, nitrous oxide). Seven test regions have been selected (Kaliningrad region, Sakhalin region, Sverdlovsk region, Novosibirsk region, Tyumen region, Chechen Republic and Krasnodar territory) with different climatic and soil characteristics. These sites will also be used for breeding plant varieties with a high capacity to absorb greenhouse gases. The first carbon landfill in Russia, Carbon, was established earlier in the Kaluga region. It was created by Ctrl2GO company.


This first testing ground in Russia costs around RUB 300 million, but those to follow are expected to be less costly.

"We need to measure exactly the amount of CO₂ that had been absorbed. That is what our carbon project is targeted to achieve. The first thing we do is to take pictures of the whole area from a satellite... with different spectral characteristics, using radars. Then we take aerial photographs of the same area using drones... Finally, we get hyperspectral cubes. The idea is to locate reference areas to be studied in detail on site," Nikolay Durmanov, a special representative of the RF Ministry of Science and Higher Education for environmental and biological safety and scientific director of the Ctrl2GO Group's Carbon project, explained.

The testing ground is needed for calibrating satellite and drone data. Results obtained within such reference areas could then be extrapolated to the rest of the territory, and more accurate data could be obtained on the absorption capacity of different types of landscapes.