Summary Biomass carbon includes carbon stored in above- and below-ground live plant components (such as leaf, branch, stem and root) as well as in standing and down dead woody debris, and fine litter. For the western United States, total live and dead biomass carbon during the baseline period (2001–2005) was estimated to be between 5048-5927 Tg C and 1867-4178 Tg C, respectively, and is predicted to increase to 5806-7373 Tg C and 2192-4462 Tg C, respectively, in 2050. Methods The temporal and spatial dynamics of biomass carbon were estimated using the USGS General Ensemble Biogeochemical Modeling System (GEMS), which involved three models (Paint-By-Number (PBN) model, CENTURY, and EDCM), under three land use and...
