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Land use increases the recalcitrance of tropical peat

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Abstract

Tropical peat carbon compound composition (CCC) is a highly understudied subject. Advanced understanding of peat CCC and carbon dynamics in differing conditions is desperately needed due to large-scale utilization of these peatlands. We studied the CCC—i.e. the hemicellulosic carbohydrate and uronic acid composition and concentrations of extractives, cellulose, acid-soluble lignin and acid-insoluble lignin—in association with peat profile depth and physical structure of peat, under representative, common land uses. Samples were gathered from an undrained forest and three sites altered 20–30 years prior to the study, which in aggregate form a continuum of increasing land-use intensity (drainage-affected forest; drained and deforested degraded open site; drained and deforested site under cultivation) in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Peat samples were taken from depths between 10 and 115 cm that covered mostly oxic, frequently waterlogged and permanently waterlogged, anoxic conditions. Our results demonstrated greater modification of peat properties when both vegetation and hydrological conditions were altered. The differences between sites were mainly present in the topmost peat and decreased with depth. Peat located at the surface contained more labile compounds (hemicelluloses, extractives, uronic acids, cellulose) on forest sites than at the most intensively altered open sites, where peat was enriched with recalcitrant acid insoluble lignin. The effect of drainage was evident in the drained forest site, where at the approximate median water table depth peat more closely resembled open sites in terms of the peat properties. The increased recalcitrance of peat in reclaimed areas has been a result of enhanced decomposition, reduced litter input rates and, at open sites also by repeated fires.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Hidenori Takahashi and Dr. Takashi Inoue for providing the data used in calculating average groundwater depths of the study sites prior to 2004. We acknowledge the Centre for International Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatland (CIMTROP) for providing facilities and assistance during field sampling. We thank Satu Repo from the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and Marjut Wallner from the University of Helsinki for their patience and expertise in the laboratory analyses. This research was supported by the Academy of Finland -funded ‘Restoration Impact on Tropical Peat Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics’ -project (RETROPEAT), University of Helsinki prize money for Peatlanders and the Jenny and Antti Wihuri foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, Latokartanonkaari 7, P.O. Box27, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    M. Könönen, J. Jauhiainen & H. Vasander

  2. Natural Resources Institute Finland, Kaironiementie 15, 39700, Parkano, Finland

    R. Laiho

  3. Natural Resources Institute Finland, Jokiniemenkuja 1, 01370, Vantaa, Finland

    P. Spetz

  4. Center for International Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatland (CIMTROP), University of Palangkaraya, Palangkaraya, Indonesia

    K. Kusin & S. Limin

Authors
  1. M. Könönen
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  2. J. Jauhiainen
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  3. R. Laiho
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  4. P. Spetz
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  5. K. Kusin
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  6. S. Limin
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  7. H. Vasander
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Correspondence to M. Könönen.

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Könönen, M., Jauhiainen, J., Laiho, R. et al. Land use increases the recalcitrance of tropical peat. Wetlands Ecol Manage 24, 717–731 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-016-9498-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-016-9498-7

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