National Carbon Stock and Greenhouse Gas Baseline Assessment for Liberia: Integrating Forest, Blue Carbon, Soil Carbon, and Sectoral Emissions

This preprint presents an integrated national assessment of carbon stocks and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across Liberia, combining forest carbon, blue carbon, soil organic carbon, and major sectoral emission sources within a common spatial framework. The study integrates field measurements, soil and sediment observations, remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS) analysis, spatial modelling, and national activity datasets. Sentinel-2 and Landsat imagery, Digital Earth Africa products, vegetation indices, field-based biomass measurements, and carbon-accounting approaches are used to characterize ecosystem distribution and estimate major carbon pools. The assessment estimates approximately 6.595 million ha of forest and a national forest carbon stock of approximately 2,236 Mt C, equivalent to about 8,200 Mt CO₂e. It also evaluates Liberia's coastal blue-carbon ecosystems and soil organic carbon resources and examines greenhouse gas emissions associated with agriculture, energy, transport, industrial activities, land-use change, and waste. The study provides a spatially integrated scientific framework for strengthening national carbon accounting and Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV), prioritizing ecosystem conservation and restoration, supporting REDD+ and blue-carbon initiatives, and screening potential areas for carbon-market interventions. The manuscript emphasizes the need for continued field measurements, soil and sediment sampling, land-cover validation, explicit uncertainty analysis, and improved sectoral activity data. Author: John Nyemah Natt Jr.Affiliation: Center for Meteorology, Oceanography and Climate Research – LiberiaDocument type: PreprintPublication date: 10 September 2026