Estimation of forest carbon stocks in temperate and subtropical mountain systems of Pakistan: implications for REDD+ and climate change mitigation.

Forests are important carbon pools as they provide pathway to mitigate climate change. Quantification of forest carbon has gained momentum after Paris Agreement in 2015. This information is a prerequisite for REDD+ implementation and carbon trading. Temperate and subtropical mountain systems of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province host about one third of Pakistan's 4.51 million ha forests. Present study estimated forest carbon stocks in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The data was collected from 449 sites in different forests across the province using a stratified cluster sampling technique. Total carbon stock in the forests of the province was estimated at 144.71 million tons with an average of 127.66 ± 9.32 t/ha. Aboveground carbon stock was 68.15 million tons accounting for 48% of the total forest carbon stock of the province. Further, belowground biomass and litter accounted for 10% and 1% respectively. The mean aboveground carbon stock was 59.98 ± 4.26 t/ha. The highest aboveground carbon stock was found in dry temperate forests (99.41 t/ha) followed by moist temperate (85.04 t/ha). Overall, temperate forests have aboveground carbon stock of 90.52 t/ha. Temperate and subtropical forests of Pakistan with high carbon densities have ample potential for reducing forest sector emissions. Therefore, forests of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province having substantial carbon stocks must be conserved for climate change mitigation. Present study provides a framework for carbon stock assessments in other temperate and subtropical regions of the world.