Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantation on tropical peatland in South East Asia: Photosynthetic response to soil drainage level for mitigation of soil carbon emissions.

While existing moratoria in Indonesia and Malaysia should preclude continued large-scale expansion of palm oil production into new areas of South-East Asian tropical peatland, existing plantations in the region remain a globally significant source of atmospheric carbon due to drainage driven decomposition of peatland soils. Previous studies have made clear the direct link between drainage depth and peat carbon decomposition and significant reductions in the emission rate of CO can be made by raising water tables nearer to the soil surface. However, the impact of such changes on palm fruit yield is not well understood and will be a critical consideration for plantation managers.

Short- and long-term carbon emissions from oil palm plantations converted from logged tropical peat swamp forest.

Need for regional economic development and global demand for agro-industrial commodities have resulted in large-scale conversion of forested landscapes to industrial agriculture across South East Asia. However, net emissions of CO from tropical peatland conversions may be significant and remain poorly quantified, resulting in controversy around the magnitude of carbon release following conversion. Here we present long-term, whole ecosystem monitoring of carbon exchange from two oil palm plantations on converted tropical peat swamp forest.

The case for increasing the statistical power of eddy covariance ecosystem studies: why, where and how?

Eddy covariance (EC) continues to provide invaluable insights into the dynamics of Earth's surface processes. However, despite its many strengths, spatial replication of EC at the ecosystem scale is rare. High equipment costs are likely to be partially responsible.

The stabilisation potential of individual and mixed assemblages of natural bacteria and microalgae.

It is recognized that microorganisms inhabiting natural sediments significantly mediate the erosive response of the bed ("ecosystem engineers") through the secretion of naturally adhesive organic material (EPS: extracellular polymeric substances). However, little is known about the individual engineering capability of the main biofilm components (heterotrophic bacteria and autotrophic microalgae) in terms of their individual contribution to the EPS pool and their relative functional contribution to substratum stabilisation. This paper investigates the engineering effects on a non-cohesive test bed as the surface was colonised by natural benthic assemblages (prokaryotic, eukaryotic and mixed cultures) of bacteria and microalgae.