Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Carbon stocks, emissions, and aboveground productivity in restored secondary tropical peat swamp forests

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Tropical wetlands such as peat swamp forests (PSFs) have been known globally as one of the carbon (C)-rich ecosystems. However, there is still a lack of understanding on the C cycle in PSFs, especially in association with land use and cover changes (e.g., ecosystem degradation and restoration). This study presents the C stocks, removals, and emissions dataset, as well as the determining factors from an early restoration stage of secondary tropical PSFs in Central Kalimantan. We assessed various biophysical parameters such as forest structure, above- and belowground C-stocks, aboveground primary productivity, total and heterotrophic soil respirations, and groundwater level (GWL). We found that tree density varied from 1200 to 1825 trees per hectare (ha) across the plots, whereas the mean of stand basal area was 32.86 ± 4.72 m2 ha−1. Mean ecosystem C stocks in the study site was 1752 ± 401 Mg-C ha−1, of which 93% was stored in belowground organic peat soils. A mean aboveground litterfall production of 4.6 ± 0.5 Mg-C ha−1 year−1 and biomass C sequestration through tree diameter increment with 2.7 ± 0.5 Mg-C ha−1 year−1 was obtained. We observed slightly larger portion of annual mean total soil respiration with 14.2 ± 1.1 Mg-C ha−1 year−1 than heterotrophic respiration 11.1 ± 0.9 Mg-C ha−1 year−1, emphasizing the lower contribution of autotrophic respiration from the belowground rooting system. Findings imply that further conservation management efforts through ecosystem restoration may preserve C stored and enhance C input in PSFs substantially, and could be potentially included in national climate change mitigation strategies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

References

  • Andriesse J (1988) Nature and management of tropical peat soils. Food & Agriculture Org, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Anemaet ER, Middleton BA (2013) Dendrometer bands made easy: using modified cable ties to measure incremental growth of trees. Appl Plant Sci 1:1300044

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anshari GZ, Afifudin M, Nuriman M, Gusmayanti E, Arianie L, Susana R, Nusantara RW, Sugardjito J, Rafiastanto A (2010) Drainage and land use impacts on changes in selected peat properties and peat degradation in West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. Biogeosciences 7:3403–3419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BMKG (2015) Dataset for annual temperature and precipitation. Sampit

  • Brady MA (1997) Organic matter dynamics of coastal peat deposits in Sumatra, Indonesia. Dissertation, University of British Columbia

  • Broder T, Blodau C, Biester H, Knorr KH (2012) Peat decomposition records in three pristine ombrotrophic bogs in southern Patagonia. Biogeosciences 9:1479–1491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlson KM, Goodman LK, May-Tobin CC (2015) Modeling relationships between water table depth and peat soil carbon loss in Southeast Asian plantations. Environ Lett 10:074006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casson A (2001) Decentralisation of policies affecting forests and estate crops in Kotawaringin Timur District, Central Kalimantan. CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheyne SM, Thompson CJ, Phillips AC et al (2008) Density and population estimate of gibbons (Hylobates albibarbis) in the Sabangau catchment, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Primates 49:50–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chimner RA, Ewel KC (2005) A tropical freshwater wetland: II. Production, decomposition, and peat formation. Wet Ecol Manag 13(6):671–684

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donato DC, Kauffman JB, Murdiyarso D, Kurnianto S, Stidham M, Kanninen M (2011) Mangroves among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics. Nat Geosci 4:293–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaveau DL, Salim MA, Hergoualc'h K et al (2014) Major atmospheric emissions from peat fires in Southeast Asia during non-drought years: evidence from the 2013 Sumatran fires. Sci Rep 4:6112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaveau DL, Sheil D, Salim MA et al (2016) Rapid conversions and avoided deforestation: examining four decades of industrial plantation expansion in Borneo. Sci Rep 6:32017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gumbricht T, Roman-Cuesta RM, Verchot L et al (2017) An expert system model for mapping tropical wetlands and peatlands reveals South America as the largest contributor. Glob Change Biol

  • Hergoualc’h KA, Gutiérrez-Vélez VH, Menton M, Verchot LV (2017) Characterizing degradation of palm swamp peatlands from space and on the ground: an exploratory study in the Peruvian Amazon. For Ecol Manag 393:63–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hergoualc’h KA, Verchot LV (2011) Stocks and fluxes of carbon associated with land use change in Southeast Asian tropical peatlands: a review. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 25:2

    Google Scholar 

  • Hergoualc’h KA, Verchot LV (2012) Changes in soil CH4 fluxes from the conversion of tropical peat swamp forests: a meta-analysis. J Integr Environ Sci 9:93–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hergoualc’h KA, Verchot LV (2013) Greenhouse gas emission factors for land use and land-use change in Southeast Asian peatlands. Mitig Adapt Strateg Gl 19:789–807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hiraishi T, Krug T, Tanabe K et al (2014) 2013 supplement to the 2006 IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories: wetlands. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland

    Google Scholar 

  • Holden J (2005) Peatland hydrology and carbon release: why small-scale process matters. Philos T Roy Soc A 363:2891–2913

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooijer A, Page S, Canadell J et al (2010) Current and future CO2 emissions from drained peatlands in Southeast Asia. Biogeosciences 7:1505–1514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huijnen V, Wooster M, Kaiser J et al (2016) Fire carbon emissions over maritime southeast Asia in 2015 largest since 1997. Sci Rep, 6

  • Joosten H, Couwenberg J (2009) Are emission reductions from peatlands MRV-able? Wetlands International, Ede:15

  • Koh LP, Miettinen J, Liew SC, Ghazoul J (2011) Remotely sensed evidence of tropical peatland conversion to oil palm. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108:5127–5132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolka RK, Murdiyarso D, Kauffman JB, Birdsey RA (2016) Tropical wetlands, climate, and land-use change: adaptation and mitigation opportunities. Wetl Ecol Manag 24:107–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotowska MM, Leuschner C, Triadiati T, Meriem S, Hertel D (2015) Quantifying above- and belowground biomass carbon loss with forest conversion in tropical lowlands of Sumatra (Indonesia). Glob Chang Biol 21:3620–3634

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krüger J, Leifeld J, Glatzel S et al (2015) Biogeochemical indicators of peatland degradation—a case study of a temperate bog in northern Germany. Biogeosciences 12:2861–2871

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhry P, Vitt DH (1996) Fossil carbon/nitrogen ratios as a measure of peat decomposition. Ecology 77:271–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurnianto S, Warren M, Talbot J, Kauffman B, Murdiyarso D, Frolking S (2015) Carbon accumulation of tropical peatlands over millennia: a modeling approach. Glob Chang Biol 21:431–444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Limpens J, Berendse F, Blodau C, Canadell JG, Freeman C, Holden J, Roulet N, Rydin H, Schaepman-Strub G (2008) Peatlands and the carbon cycle: from local processes to global implications—a synthesis. Biogeosciences 5:1475–1491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malhi Y, Farfán-Amézquita F, Doughty CE et al (2014) The productivity, metabolism and carbon cycle of two lowland tropical forest plots in south-western Amazonia, Peru. Plant Ecol Divers 7:85–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malmer N, Holm E (1984) Variation in the C/N-quotient of peat in relation to decomposition rate and age determination with 210 Pb. Oikos 43:171–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manuri S, Brack C, Nugroho NP, Hergoualc’h K, Novita N, Dotzauer H, Verchot L, Putra CAS, Widyasari E (2014) Tree biomass equations for tropical peat swamp forest ecosystems in Indonesia. For Ecol Manag 334:241–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marthews T, Metcalfe D, Malhi Y et al (2012) Measuring tropical forest carbon allocation and cycling: a RAINFOR-GEM field manual for intensive census plots. Manual, Global Ecosystems Monitoring 2:2

    Google Scholar 

  • Miettinen J, Shi C, Liew SC (2012) Two decades of destruction in Southeast Asia’s peat swamp forests. Front Ecol Environ 10:124–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mishra S, Lee W, Hooijer A et al (2014) Microbial and metabolic profiling reveal strong influence of water table and land-use patterns on classification of degraded tropical peatlands. Biogeosciences 11:1727–1741

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miyamoto K, Kohyama TS, Rahajoe JS et al (2016) Forest structure and productivity of tropical heath and peatland forests. In: Miyamoto K, Noboyuki T (eds) Tropical peatland ecosystems, springer, pp 151–166

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • MoE (2010) Indonesia second National Communication under the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC). Ministry of Environment, Jakarta, Indonesia

    Google Scholar 

  • Murdiyarso D, Hergoualc'h KA, Verchot LV (2010a) Opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in tropical peatlands. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 107:19655–19660

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murdiyarso D, Donato D, Kauffman JB et al (2010b) Carbon storage in mangrove and peatland ecosystems: a preliminary account from plots in Indonesia. CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia

    Google Scholar 

  • Murdiyarso D, Kauffman JB, Verchot LV (2013) Climate change mitigation strategies should include tropical wetlands. Carbon Manag 4:491–499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murdiyarso D, Purbopuspito J, Kauffman JB, Warren MW, Sasmito SD, Donato DC, Manuri S, Krisnawati H, Taberima S, Kurnianto S (2015) The potential of Indonesian mangrove forests for global climate change mitigation. Nat Clim Chang 5:1089–1092

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ong CSP, Juan JC, Yule CM (2014) Litterfall production and chemistry of Koompassia malaccensis and Shorea uliginosa in a tropical peat swamp forest: plant nutrient regulation and climate relationships. Trees 29:527–537

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Page SE, Baird AJ (2016) Peatlands and global change: response and resilience. Annu Rev Environ Resour 41:35–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Page SE, Hosciło A, Wösten H et al (2008) Restoration ecology of lowland tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia: current knowledge and future research directions. Ecosystems 12:888–905

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Page SE, Rieley JO, Banks CJ (2011) Global and regional importance of the tropical peatland carbon pool. Glob Chang Biol 17:798–818

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Page SE, Rieley JO, Shotyk Ø et al (1999) Interdependence of peat and vegetation in a tropical peat swamp forest. Philos T Roy Soc B 354:1885–1897

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suwarna U (2012) Estimation of total carbon stocks in soil and vegetation of tropical peat forest in Indonesia. Jurnal Manajemen Hutan Tropika 18:18–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Wakhid N, Hirano T, Okimoto Y, Nurzakiah S, Nursyamsi D (2017) Soil carbon dioxide emissions from a rubber plantation on tropical peat. Sci Total Environ 581-582:857–865

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren MW, Frolking S, Dai Z et al (2016) Impacts of land use, restoration, and climate change on tropical peat carbon stocks in the twenty-first century: implications for climate mitigation. Mitig Adapt Strat Gl 22(7):1041–1061

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren MW, Hergoualc'h KA, Kauffman JB et al (2017) An appraisal of Indonesia’s immense peat carbon stock using national peatland maps: uncertainties and potential losses from conversion. Carbon Balance Manag 12:12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren MW, Kauffman JB, Murdiyarso D, Anshari G, Hergoualc'h K, Kurnianto S, Purbopuspito J, Gusmayanti E, Afifudin M, Rahajoe J, Alhamd L, Limin S, Iswandi A (2012) A cost-efficient method to assess carbon stocks in tropical peat soil. Biogeosciences 9:4477–4485

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wijedasa LS, Jauhiainen J, Kononen M et al (2017) Denial of long-term issues with agriculture on tropical peatlands will have devastating consequences. Glob Change Biol 23:977–982

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wösten JHM, Clymans E, Page SE, Rieley JO, Limin SH (2008) Peat–water interrelationships in a tropical peatland ecosystem in Southeast Asia. Catena 73:212–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for funding support (AID-BFS-G-11-00002) through the Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP) of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and PT. Rimba Makmur Utama and the National and Unit Policy, Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Republic of Indonesia for research permits. We also thank Kemen Austin, field assistants, and local people who helped during fieldworks. Constructive comments from Meriadec Silanpaa, Jessica Clendening, Guest editor, and two anonymous reviewers on the manuscript are highly appreciated.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Meli F. Saragi-Sasmito.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 32 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Saragi-Sasmito, M.F., Murdiyarso, D., June, T. et al. Carbon stocks, emissions, and aboveground productivity in restored secondary tropical peat swamp forests. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change 24, 521–533 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-018-9793-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-018-9793-0

Keywords

Navigation