Carbon You Can Count On: How FastTrack is Raising the Bar for Credible Restoration

A credibility engine for nature restoration

Land Life’s science team created FastTrack to do one thing well: make carbon predictions that are locally accurate, fully accountable and globally applicable. It builds on more than a decade of applied ecological modelling and has been refined through years of field use, rigorous testing and independent scientific review.

FastTrack’s credibility is not based on marketing claims.

It has been peer-reviewed and publishedOpens in a new tab. in collaboration with leading research institutions, including Australia’s CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) and the University of Melbourne. The study recognised FastTrack as an IPCC Tier 2 approach – a level of modelling that provides far greater local specificity than generic Tier 1 methods. It also demonstrated that FastTrack, calibrated for mixed-species reforestation across direct seeding, tubestock planting and combined methods, produced predictions that closely matched actual field measurements.

So far, it has been used in Land Life’s project areas, including Australia, Spain, Portugal. Iceland, Ghana and the United States, with consistent success. Its architecture, however, is designed to be global. Technically, FastTrack can be applied anywhere in the world. The only requirement is data.

Because FastTrack is a data-driven model, it depends on high-quality local inputs. When national forest inventory (NFI) data is available (typically collected and published by governments), Land Life can calibrate the model to local conditions. Where data is missing, we can use data and information from representative scientific papers, but that is often insufficient to do a test on independent data. With sufficient information, FastTrack can be adapted for new regions, from Indonesia to sub-Saharan Africa.

What makes FastTrack different?

Most carbon models were built for national-scale accounting. They are excellent for policy purposes but lack the resolution needed for site-specific projects. FastTrack flips that approach. It was designed from the ground up for project-level restoration, and that makes it different in four critical ways:

• Locally accurate: FastTrack filters NFI data by climate, elevation, slope and other environmental variables to match the precise conditions of each site, while taking into consideration the projected future climate conditions of each site.
• Reflects planting choices: The model accounts for the exact mix of species and planting densities in every project – never generic monocultures or one-size-fits-all assumptions.
• Fully accountable: Built using transparent equations and peer-reviewed methods, FastTrack applies a strict four-eyes check on every output, so every projection is verified by two independent experts.
• Globally applicable: While inputs are local, the underlying framework works consistently across regions, from Australia to Spain to the American Southwest.

For clients and partners, this means confidence. FastTrack is more than a model; it is the scientific foundation behind Land Life’s promises.

Proven accuracy

FastTrack has been rigorously tested against real-world measurements across multiple continents, consistently aligning with observed field data and delivering reliable project-level precision. This matters because field validation is the gold standard: it demonstrates that projections reflect reality, not just theoretical assumptions.

Validation wasn’t a one-off exercise. It included comprehensive Site Productivity Assessments across Australia, Spain and the United States, covering a range of planting conditions and restoration techniques. These assessments allowed FastTrack to be stress-tested against diverse climates, species mixes and site characteristics, ensuring its predictions hold up under real-world complexity.

Why does this matter? Because when restoration projects promise carbon outcomes decades into the future, trust hinges on robust science.

FastTrack’s validation gives businesses, landowners and stakeholders confidence that the projections they rely on are backed by evidence, not estimates. It shows that integrity in carbon modelling is achievable and that the outcomes we commit to are grounded in reality.

Reporting with rigour

Every FastTrack projection comes with a detailed report that goes far beyond a simple spreadsheet. Structured like a scientific paper, it includes an abstract, methodology, key assumptions, data filters, and site-specific parameters.

The report summarises results in clear tables and visuals, and provides appendices with maps and supporting data. This level of transparency is rare in reforestation projects, giving clients and auditors full visibility into how estimates were produced.

It’s not just modelling – it’s a compass

Think of FastTrack as a kind of ecological forecast, predicting carbon accumulation, helping Land Life design better projects and enabling clients to plan with greater confidence.

It doesn’t model what it cannot yet predict – like future fires or animal disturbances – but it captures what matters most for long-term carbon storage. It continues to evolve through iterative updates and a strict four-eyes review system that expands its scope of applicability over time.

Restoration with results

In a voluntary carbon market under growing pressure, FastTrack is more than just a tool – it’s a differentiator. It gives CFOs, legal teams and ESG leads something solid to stand behind, building trust from boardrooms to the field.

Because reforestation is not just about planting trees – it’s about using science-based models to guide project design, and combining those with rigorous monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) to validate outcomes over time.

That’s the promise behind every Land Life project. Not just ambition, but accountability. Not just nature, but evidence. As demand grows for high-integrity carbon removals, the bar is being raised, and rightly so. With FastTrack, Land Life is showing that credible, scalable, science-led reforestation is not only possible, it’s already happening.

Want to learn more about how Land Life uses technology to deliver high-quality, nature-based solutions? Get in touch or explore our innovation hub.