Carbon Management Tool: Help

Go to | Introduction | Getting Started | Help |

1. Introduction

The Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases-CarbOnManagement Evaluation Tool (COMET2 ) tool is a decision support tool for agricultural producers, land managers, soil scientists and other agricultural interests.

Users of COMET2 specify a history of agricultural management practices on one or more parcels of land. The results are presented as ten year averages of soil carbon sequestration or emissions with associated statistical uncertainty values. Estimates can be used to construct a soil carbon inventory for the 1605(b) program. Along with soil carbon, the user can also obtain woody biomass carbon and nitrogen emissions estimates for a more complete Greenhouse Gas footprint.

2. Getting Started

2.1 Prepare your Entity for Analysis

For the purposes of the Voluntary Reporting Program, an Entity means the whole or part of any business, institution, organization, government agency or corporation, or household that:

Is recognized under any U.S. Federal, State or local law that applies to it;
Is located and operates, at least in part, in the United States; and
The emissions of such operations are released, at least in part, in the United States.

Your entity land area may be comprised of several parcels or fields. A parcel is an area of land that has uniform soils and common historical and present day land management. The entity boundary is the extent of all the parcels owned or leased by the entity. Your entity-level report will include the sum of the “Predicted Change” in “Soil Carbon” for all the parcels.

Before using COMET2, divide your land into parcels. You will need the following information about each parcel:

The location (i.e., state and county where the parcel is located)
The area in English or Metric Units
The soil surface texture and hydric condition
The management history for four time periods: Historic, Modern, Current, and Projection.

If your parcel is in more than one county/state, we recommend you produce reports for each parcel area separately, using the approximate area in each county/state.

2.2 Start COMET2

Start COMET2 by clicking on the "Tool" button at the top of this WEB page in the navigation bar or the large button on the "Home" page. The navigation buttons are only visible on the State/County screen once the tool application is running.

**Figure 2.2-1**: Example of the COMET2 navigation buttons.

**Figure 2.2-2**: Example of the COMET2 run button on the **HOME** page.

When you click on either button, you will be asked a series of questions on the various application input screens. Enter the requested information by typing in the form boxes, either by clicking on the selection lists or by clicking on the appropriate buttons. Once all the information is entered for a screen, submit and save your information by clicking on the "NEXT" button, usually at the right bottom of the page or tabbed window.

**Figure 2.2-3**: Example of the COMET2 Application screen real estate.

Each application screen has instructions for the active page. These instructions appear in a gray box with Blue Text at the top the of screen page. Each instruction clearly identifies the step and a key word associated with the step.

**Figure 2.2-4:** Example of user instructions that appear on every tool screen. Click on the image for a full size image.

Some tool screens organize information using bars and tabs. Click the "Right Arrow" button or the bar title to open the information associated with that bar. When you open the bar the icon changes to a "Down Arrow" pointing to it's information. Some screen pages require the user to open "BARS" in a sequence. When this sequence is not followed, the application will offer instructions on the missed step. In the following example, each BAR represents the management time periods that require user input.

**Figure 2.2-5:** Example of page content organization bars. Click on the image for a full size image.

Some of the content within the active window include "TABS" that further organize the information. In the following example, you would pick a general management type from the tabs, such as "Crops". Then select more detailed information from the displayed content to complete the data entry for the selected "BAR". The tabs are used to filter or sort the content into major "themes" or "categories". Click on the tab title, such as "Agroforestry", to open the content associated with the tab. The following example shows four tabs and indicates that the "Crops" tab is active because of the yellow border. When you mouse over the tabs, the display changes indicating the dynamic content.

**Figure 2.2-6:** Example of tabbed content. Click on the image for a full size image.

Each bar has an active window area defined by a "heavy black line". The window content includes a title that explains the window information and additional user instructions. The active window will also include a button, that when clicked, proceeds to the next step.

**Figure 2.2-7:** Example of the active window assocated with the open bar. Click on the image for a full size image.

Every tool page will include a "NEXT" and "BACK" button. The "NEXT" button takes you to the next tool input screen. You must Click the "NEXT" button to submit the information from the active screen and move to the next step in the analysis process. Click the "BACK" button to go back to the previous screen.

**Figure 2.2-8:** Example of Buttons at the bottom of the Application Input Area.

Be sure to review the gray “Selection” box on the right side of the page as you enter information. Each new input is summarized in the “Selection” box after clicking on the "NEXT" button.

**Figure 2.2-9**: Examples of the Selection Box Information.

A "GO TO" link navigation bar is provided at the top of the application window. These links allow you to navigate to and from different tool screens. The link uses a "key word" from the tool screen and provides additional information about the "key word" when the mouse is over the link. Notice that a "Reset" link is provided that will clear/delete your current analysis environment.

**Figure 2.2-10**: Example of the GO TO navigation links. Click on the image for a full size image.

3. Help System

You can get help on any question by clicking on the icon. When you click the "Question Mark" icon the Help window opens with information relevant to the selected button.

**Figure 3-1**: Examples of the dynamic Help system showing the initial state and the changed state after the help icon is clicked. When you click the "Question Mark" button or the "Down Arrow" icon, a dynamic window opens to display information associated with the "Question" or about using the help system.

**Figure 3-2**: Example of the dynamic Help window showing the initial state that describes the help system and other symbols used on the tool web pages. When you click the "Question Mark" button or the "Down Arrow" icon, a dynamic window opens to display information associated with the "Help Question" or about using the help system. Click on the image for a full size image.

**Figure 3-3**: Example of the dynamic Help window with a discussion of the Historic Management period. Click on the image for a full size image.