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Abstract：
Understanding the biophysical limitations on forest carbon across diverse ecological regions is crucial for accurately assessing and managing forest carbon stocks. This study investigates the role of climate and disturbance on the spatial variation of two key forest carbon pools: aboveground carbon (AGC) and soil organic carbon (SOC). Using plot-level carbon pool estimates from Nepal\'s national forest inventory and structural equation modelling, we explore the relationship of forest carbon stocks to broad-scale climatic water and energy availability and fine-scale terrain and disturbance. The forest AGC and SOC models explained 25% and 59% of the observed spatial variation in forest AGC and SOC, respectively. Among the evaluated variables, disturbance exhibited the strongest negative correlation with AGC, while the availability of climatic energy demonstrated the strongest negative correlation with SOC. Disturbances such as selective logging and firewood collection result in immediate forest carbon loss, while soil carbon changes take longer to respond. The lower decomposition rates in the high-elevation region, due to lower temperatures, preserve organic matter and contribute to the high SOC stocks observed there. These results highlight the critical role of climate and disturbance regimes in shaping landscape patterns of forest carbon stocks. Understanding the underlying drivers of these patterns is crucial for forest carbon management and conservation across diverse ecological zones including the Central Himalayas.
摘要：
了解不同生态区域对森林碳的生物物理限制对于准确评估和管理森林碳储量至关重要。本研究调查了气候和干扰对两个关键森林碳库空间变化的作用：地上碳（AGC）和土壤有机碳（SOC）。使用尼泊尔国家森林清单和结构方程模型的地块级碳库估计，我们探讨了森林碳储量与大尺度气候水和能源可用性以及细尺度地形和扰动的关系。森林AGC和SOC模型解释了观测到的森林AGC和SOC空间变化的25％和59％，分别。在评估的变量中，扰动与AGC表现出最强的负相关，而气候能源的可获得性与SOC的负相关性最强。选择性伐木和收集木柴等干扰导致森林碳立即流失，而土壤碳变化需要更长的时间来响应。高海拔地区分解速率较低，由于温度较低，保护有机物质，并有助于那里观察到的高SOC库存。这些结果强调了气候和扰动机制在塑造森林碳储量景观格局中的关键作用。了解这些模式的潜在驱动因素对于包括喜马拉雅山中部在内的不同生态区的森林碳管理和保护至关重要。
