Plot-level estimates of aboveground biomass and soil organic carbon stocks from Nepal’s forest inventory

Abstract

Given the contribution of deforestation and forest degradation to the global carbon cycle, forest resources are critical to mitigating the global climate change effects. Improved forest monitoring across different biomes is important to understand forest dynamics better and improve global projections of future atmospheric CO2 concentration. Better quantification of the forest carbon cycle advances scientific understanding and informs global negotiations about carbon emissions reduction. High-quality estimates of forest carbon stocks are currently scarce in many developing countries. Here, we present the most comprehensive georeferenced data set to date of plot-level forest carbon estimates for Nepal. Based on field observations from Nepal’s national forest inventory of 2010–2014; the data set includes estimates for two major forest carbon pools, aboveground biomass (AGB) and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks from 2,009 and 1,156 inventory plots, respectively. The dataset fills an important knowledge gap about forest carbon stocks in the Central Himalayas, a region with highly heterogeneous environmental conditions and rich biodiversity that is poorly represented in existing global estimates of forest carbon.