Pan-Tropical Forest Carbon Density Simulator

Biome & Biophysical Inputs

Forest Preset Reference

95th-Pct Canopy Height (P95) 44.8 m

Mean Wood Specific Gravity 0.68 g/cm³

Stem Density (>10cm DBH) 430 stems/ha

Vertical Structural Complexity 0.82

Dry Season Duration 2.5 months

Soil Nutrient / Weathering Class Moderate Weathered

Satellite LiDAR Waveform & Vertical Biomass Profile GEDI 1064nm Waveform

Canopy Height Stratification (0 - 70m) Emergent Strata Active

Canopy Volume Density

Simulated LiDAR Waveform Return

P95 Height Marker

Biophysical Insight: Congo Basin forests maintain higher carbon stocks per hectare than Amazonia despite lower rainfall primarily due to taller emergent canopy heights (P95 > 42m) and significantly greater average wood specific gravity (0.65-0.70 g/cm³).

Carbon Density Telemetry

Aboveground Biomass (AGBD)

218.4

Mg C / hectare

Complexity Index (VSCI)

0.82

Dimensionless (0-1)

Regional Benchmark Comparison

vs. Amazon Terra Firme (163 Mg C/ha) 1.34x

vs. SE Asian Dipterocarp (245 Mg C/ha) 0.89x

Biomass Partition Breakdown

Stem Wood (Bole) 68.5% (149.6 Mg C)

Crown & Branches 21.2% (46.3 Mg C)

Coarse Root System 6.5% (14.2 Mg C)

Foliage / Liana Leaf Area 3.8% (8.3 Mg C)

Allometric modeling grounded in pantropical GEDI calibration data and Chave et al. biophysical pan-tropical biomass syntheses.