SURFACE ELEVATION CHANGES OF TROPICAL PEATLANDS UNDER DIFFERENT LAND COVERS: A PRELIMINARY ACCOUNT FOLLOWING 2015 FIRES IN CENTRAL KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA

摘要

Tropical peatlands play important roles in global climate change, as they store large amount of carbon and at the same time facing tremendous pressure from land conversion. Fires have been extensively used in agricultural land development following excessive drainage of water in the landscape. Rod Surface Elevation Table (RSET) technique (Cahoon and Lynch 1997) is used to monitor surface elevation change due to accretion and subsurface subsidence or expansion due to oxidation, compaction, and consolidation. In addition, water table was monitored throughout study period and peat soils were sampled periodically for bulk density analysis. This study aims to propose RSET technique for long-term peat subsidence measurements. We set up a network of 22 RSET-MH benchmark stations in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia to represent gradient of peat degradation ranging from protected to managed and drained Peat Swamp Forests (PSF). These sites were affected by 2015 and some areas were burned more than once. Our preliminary assessments are performed every month regularly in order to provide useful scientific information on the estimation of carbon loss due to peat drainages and fire events.