Piloting the FBDC Model to Estimate Forest Carbon Dynamics in Bhutan

Bhutanese forests have been well preserved and can sequester the atmospheric carbon (C). In spite of its importance, understanding Bhutanese forest C dynamics was very limited due to the lack of available data. However, forest C model can simulate forest C dynamics with comparatively limited data and references. In this study, we aimed to simulate Bhutanese forest C dynamics at 6 plots with the Forest Biomass and Dead organic matter Carbon (FBDC) model, which can simulate forest C cycles with small amount of input data. The total forest C stock ($Mg\;C\;ha^{-1}$) ranged from 118.35 to 200.04 with an average of 168.41. The C stocks ($Mg\;C\;ha^{-1}$) in biomass, litter, dead wood, and mineral soil were 3.40-88.13, 4.24-24.95, 1.99-20.31, 91.45-97.90, respectively. On average, the biomass, litter, dead wood, and mineral soil accounted for 36.0, 5.5, 2.5, and 56.0% of the total C stocks, respectively. Although our modeling approach was applied at a small pilot scale, it exhibited a potential to report Bhutanese forest C inventory with reliable methodology. In order to report the national forest C inventory, field work for major tree species and forest types in Bhutan are required.