Carbon stocks in natural forests of Colombia

Background Tropical forests play a key role in the development of climate policy frameworks. However, field-based assessments integrating multiple carbon pools in tropical regions remain scarce at national or regional scales. In Colombia, natural forests cover more than half of the continental territory, yet comprehensive estimates of carbon stocks across aboveground biomass, woody debris, and soils are lacking. This study provides the first national-scale, standardized, field-based quantification of these carbon pools and examines their environmental and structural drivers. Results Using data from 265 clusters of Colombia’s National Forest Inventory, we estimated a national mean total carbon stock of 184.8 ± 3.6 Mg C ha ^− 1 , which represents a total estimated amount of 10.96 ± 0.21 Pg C stored in natural forests. Aboveground carbon (AGC) represented 55.4% of total carbon stocks, soil organic carbon (SOC) stored 37.1%, and woody debris carbon (WDC) 7.6%. Significant regional variation was observed, with Amazonia showing the highest total carbon mean and Caribe the lowest. Structural equation models revealed that AGC was mainly driven by the abundance of large trees, followed by climatic and soil fertility gradients. WDC was influenced by both climate and forest structure, while SOC was primarily determined by climate and soil properties. Conclusions Colombian natural forests store substantial carbon stocks whose distribution and drivers vary markedly among biogeographic regions and carbon pools. The Amazonia region contains about 70% of the country’s total forest carbon, emphasizing its importance for national mitigation strategies. These findings provide critical empirical evidence to improve greenhouse gas inventories and support regionally tailored policies for forest conservation, REDD+, and carbon offset initiatives.