Published in ERW, 1 Sep 2015
A meta-analysis of studies of Southeast Asian peatlands has provided further evidence that the depth of the water table can act as a proxy for carbon loss from the soil. The analysis suggests a broadly linear relationship between the two measurements, with water-table depths of 70 cm implying an annual carbon loss of roughly 20 tonnes per hectare.
Peatlands are an important carbon sink. In Southeast Asia alone, which holds about an eighth of the global peatland carbon pool, these organic soils are believed to sequester some 68 million tonnes of carbon. It’s thought that draining peatlands — usually for agriculture such as growing oil palm — releases this sequestered carbon, as oxygen permeates the dry soil and triggers microbial activity and decomposition. […]
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