Total Biomass Carbon

Description

This indicator measures the total carbon stored in vegetation within a given area, expressed in tonnes of carbon per hectare. Estimates are provided annually from 2001 onwards, integrating both above-ground (aerial) and below-ground (root) biomass.

The calculation uses vegetation type, land cover, and fire occurrence to improve accuracy. By monitoring biomass carbon stocks over time, Atlas provides insight into ecosystem change, identifying reductions due to deforestation or fires as well as increases from natural regrowth or reforestation efforts.

What it measures

• Total carbon stored in biomass per hectare.
• Above- and below-ground contributions.
• Annual changes in carbon stocks from 2001 to 2022.

How to interpret

• Lower values: areas with low biomass or heavy disturbance.
• Higher values: areas with high biomass, such as intact forests.
• Year-on-year change indicates carbon loss (disturbance) or gain (restoration).

Unit / Scale

Tonnes of carbon per hectare (tC/ha).
Temporal coverage: 2001–2022.
Spatial resolution: 309 m.
Update frequency: Annual.

Author / Source

Lemu — integrating global land cover, biomass, and fire datasets.
Key sources include:

• Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S): Land cover classification maps.
• Gibbs, H. K., & Ruesch, A. — IPCC Tier-1 Global Biomass Carbon Map (2000).
• Giglio, L., Justice, C., Boschetti, L., & Roy, D. (2021). MODIS Burned Area Dataset (NASA EOSDIS).

🔗 https://climate.copernicus.eu
🔗 https://daac.ornl.gov/cgi-bin/dsviewer.pl?ds_id=932

Applications in Atlas

• Establish carbon baselines for ecosystems and conservation projects.
• Quantify carbon loss from deforestation and fire events.
• Track carbon gains from restoration and reforestation.
• Support climate reporting, carbon offsetting, and ecosystem service valuation.