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Carbon Pools

GCBM tracks carbon across biomass and dead organic matter pools while preserving mass balance.

Document Control

Field Value
Author Geraldson Muluh
Owner Science lead or delegate
Audience Analysts and reviewers
Last reviewed 2026-03-27
Review cadence Quarterly

Pool Categories

Biomass Pools

  • merchantable stem biomass
  • foliage
  • other above-ground biomass components
  • fine roots
  • coarse roots
  • sub-merchantable biomass
  • subvegetation is present in the model but is not currently used in this workflow

Dead Organic Matter Pools

  • standing dead
  • down woody debris
  • litter
  • soil organic carbon

Transfer Processes

  1. Growth moves carbon from atmosphere to biomass pools.
  2. Turnover moves carbon from biomass to dead organic matter pools.
  3. Decay moves carbon from dead organic matter pools to atmosphere or other pools.
  4. Disturbances accelerate or redirect transfers between pools.