2025-066-E-County Mgr-Eno River Association-Prairie Restoration

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Page 14 of 24 sequester roughly 0.2 metric tons of CO2 in the first year after planting, 0.3 in the second year, onward for a total of 2.2 metric tons over the first 5 years and 48 metric tons over the first 20 years, with 5.9 tons being sequestered in the 20th year alone. This estimate includes only carbon sequestered by the trees planted as a part of this project, and does not account for additional sequestration by herbaceous plants and trees expected to naturally set seed and grow as a part of the reforestation process. Carbon sequestration in prairie systems is less thoroughly studied than in forests, but estimates of carbon sequestration in prairie systems seem to range from 0.3 to 1.7 metric tons per acre, although it is not clear whether the estimate of 0.3 metric tons per acre refers to the amount of carbon sequestered or the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent - if it refers to the amount of carbon, that amounts to roughly 1.1 metric tons of CO2 equivalent sequestered per acre per year. For our estimate, we used a value of 1 metric ton of CO2 sequestered per acre per year for a prairie system. To maintain the prairie restoration field, it will need to be mowed using a tractor once or twice per year. This is expected to take no more than 4 hours per round of mowing. At the low end of typical efficiency for a 50-horsepower tractor (2.5 gallons/hour, or 0.05 gallons/horsepower- hour), this mowing would consume about 20 gallons of diesel annually, emitting 203.8 kilograms, or 0.2 metric tons, of CO2. Because much of 2025 will be used to prepare the site for planting, carbon sequestration by the prairie will not begin until 2026. In 2026, the 14.2-acre prairie is expected to sequester around 14.2 metric tons of CO2, with that same amount being sequestered in each consecutive year for a total of roughly 71 metric tons over the first five years following conversion and 284 metric tons over the first twenty years. Taken altogether, the Confluence Natural Area will see a net decrease in CO2 emissions of 6.8 metric tons in the first year of the project, 21.3 metric tons in the second year, 107.2 metric tons over the first five years, and 468 metric tons over the first twenty years. Because these estimates use fairly conservative values for estimated tree growth and prairie carbon sequestration, it is possible that CO2 emissions reductions will be even greater. 13. Over how many years will this emissions reduction take place as a result of your project? Please consider the expected lifetime of the technology/program/impact, etc. Emissions from the two restoration fields at the Confluence Natural Area will change from positive to negative within the first year and a half of the project as agriculture ceases, and the planted trees and prairie plants begin to grow. As described above, the emissions reduction via carbon sequestration from this project is expected to occur continuously and indefinitely, although carbon sequestration may plateau slightly as the planted Docusign Envelope ID: 044C3299-6F90-4782-B8F5-C4A7339F0897