The total carbon inventory in the terrestrial biosphere in the last glacial maximum (LGM), 18 kyr ago, is analyzed in a series of experiments that examine the sensitivity of the inventory to vegetation distribution and carbon dynamics. The results show that for most forest vegetation types, carbon densities for the LGM are within 10% of their present-day values. Discrepancies between vegetation distributions simulated by two bioclimatic schemes are attributable to the assignation of vegetation types to climates with rare or no present-day analog. The model experiments, combined with palynogical data for regions with no present-day analog climate, yield to a decrease of 612¿105 Gt C compared to present day. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1995