Riparian and terrestrial forests are vital components of tropical ecosystems, playing a key role in carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. This study assessed and compared tree biomass and carbon stock between riparian and adjacent terrestrial forests along the Sharda River in the Central Himalaya to understand structural and functional differences. Field surveys were conducted during 2023–2024 across three sites in each forest type using ten randomly placed 10 × 10 m quadrats per site. Vegetation parameters—frequency, abundance, density, and Importance Value Index (IVI)—were calculated utilizing standard ecological approaches. Tree basal area was derived from circumference at breast height (CBH), and biomass was estimated non-destructively for trees with CBH > 30 cm using species-specific and generalized allometric equations. Results showed higher tree density (350 ± 34.64 ind/ha), basal area (13.99 ± 0.51 m²/ha), species diversity (2.47 ± 0.11), biomass (95.81 ± 65.58 Mg/ha), and carbon stock (45.51 ± 3.13 Mg C/ha) in terrestrial forests compared to riparian forests. Riparian forests had 286.66 ± 50.33 ind/ha density, 6.31 ± 2.71 m²/ha basal area, 2.14 ± 0.06 diversity, 53.5 ± 25.14 Mg/ha biomass, and 23.79 ± 13.05 Mg C/ha carbon stock. These variations reflect differences in species composition and disturbance regimes. The findings offer valuable insights into the carbon dynamics of underexplored Himalayan riparian ecosystems, highlighting their importance in climate change mitigation and conservation planning.