Potential of APSIS-InSAR for measuring surface oscillations of tropical peatlands.

Tropical peatland across Southeast Asia is drained extensively for production of pulpwood, palm oil and other food crops. Associated increases in peat decomposition have led to widespread subsidence, deterioration of peat condition and CO2 emissions. However, quantification of subsidence and peat condition from these processes is challenging due to the scale and inaccessibility of dense tropical peat swamp forests.

CH and N O emissions from smallholder agricultural systems on tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia.

There are limited data for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from smallholder agricultural systems in tropical peatlands, with data for non-CO emissions from human-influenced tropical peatlands particularly scarce. The aim of this study was to quantify soil CH and N O fluxes from smallholder agricultural systems on tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia and assess their environmental controls. The study was carried out in four regions in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Detecting tropical peatland degradation: Combining remote sensing and organic geochemistry.

Tropical peatlands are important carbon stores that are vulnerable to drainage and conversion to agriculture. Protection and restoration of peatlands are increasingly recognised as key nature based solutions that can be implemented as part of climate change mitigation. Identification of peatland areas that are important for protection and restauration with regards to the state of their carbon stocks, are therefore vital for policy makers.

Temporal changes in litterfall and potential nutrient return in cocoa agroforestry systems under organic and conventional management, Ghana.

Litterfall is a critical link between vegetation and soils by which nutrients are returned to the soils, thus the amount and pattern of litterfall regulates nutrient cycling, soil fertility and primary productivity for most terrestrial ecosystems. We quantified, analyzed and compared macro- and micro-nutrients return through litterfall in organic and conventional cocoa agroforestry systems in Suhum, Ghana. We further assessed the contribution of shade tree species to litterfall and nutrient dynamics.

Author Correction: Greenhouse gas emissions resulting from conversion of peat swamp forest to oil palm plantation.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Greenhouse gas emissions resulting from conversion of peat swamp forest to oil palm plantation.

Conversion of tropical peat swamp forest to drainage-based agriculture alters greenhouse gas (GHG) production, but the magnitude of these changes remains highly uncertain. Current emissions factors for oil palm grown on drained peat do not account for temporal variation over the plantation cycle and only consider CO emissions. Here, we present direct measurements of GHGs emitted during the conversion from peat swamp forest to oil palm plantation, accounting for CH and NO as well as CO.

Evaluation of vegetation communities, water table, and peat composition as drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in lowland tropical peatlands.

Tropical peatlands are globally important source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, but data on carbon fluxes from these ecosystems is limited due to the logistical challenges of measuring gas fluxes in these ecosystems. Proposals to overcome the difficulties of measuring gas carbon fluxes in the tropics include remote sensing (top-down) approaches. However, these require information on the effect of vegetation communities on carbon dioxide (CO) and methane (CH) fluxes from the peat surface (bottom-up).

Methane emissions from tree stems in neotropical peatlands.

Neotropical peatlands emit large amounts of methane (CH ) from the soil surface, but fluxes from tree stems in these ecosystems are unknown. In this study we investigated CH emissions from five tree species in two forest types common to neotropical lowland peatlands in Panama. Methane from tree stems accounted for up to 30% of net ecosystem CH emissions.

Are secondary forests second-rate? Comparing peatland greenhouse gas emissions, chemical and microbial community properties between primary and secondary forests in Peninsular Malaysia.

Tropical peatlands are globally important ecosystems with high C storage and are endangered by anthropogenic disturbances. Microbes in peatlands play an important role in sustaining the functions of peatlands as a C sink, yet their characteristics in these habitats are poorly understood. This research aimed to elucidate the responses of these complex ecosystems to disturbance by exploring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, nutrient contents, soil microbial communities and the functional interactions between these components in a primary and secondary peat swamp forest in Peninsular Malaysia.

Exploring drivers of litter decomposition in a greening Arctic: results from a transplant experiment across a treeline.

Decomposition of plant litter is a key control over carbon (C) storage in the soil. The biochemistry of the litter being produced, the environment in which the decomposition is taking place, and the community composition and metabolism of the decomposer organisms exert a combined influence over decomposition rates. As deciduous shrubs and trees are expanding into tundra ecosystems as a result of regional climate warming, this change in vegetation represents a change in litter input to tundra soils and a change in the environment in which litter decomposes.

Tropical wetlands: A missing link in the global carbon cycle?

Tropical wetlands are not included in Earth system models, despite being an important source of methane (CH) and contributing a large fraction of carbon dioxide (CO) emissions from land use, land use change, and forestry in the tropics. This review identifies a remarkable lack of data on the carbon balance and gas fluxes from undisturbed tropical wetlands, which limits the ability of global change models to make accurate predictions about future climate. We show that the available data on in situ carbon gas fluxes in undisturbed forested tropical wetlands indicate marked spatial and temporal variability in CO and CH emissions, with exceptionally large fluxes in Southeast Asia and the Neotropics.

To what extent can zero tillage lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from temperate soils?

Soil tillage practices have a profound influence on the physical properties of soil and the greenhouse gas (GHG) balance. However there have been very few integrated studies on the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) and soil biophysical and chemical characteristics under different soil management systems. We recorded a significantly higher net global warming potential under conventional tillage systems (26-31% higher than zero tillage systems).

Environmental controls of temporal and spatial variability in CO2 and CH4 fluxes in a neotropical peatland.

Tropical peatlands play an important role in the global storage and cycling of carbon (C) but information on carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes from these systems is sparse, particularly in the Neotropics. We quantified short and long-term temporal and small scale spatial variation in CO2 and CH4 fluxes from three contrasting vegetation communities in a domed ombrotrophic peatland in Panama. There was significant variation in CO2 fluxes among vegetation communities in the order Campnosperma panamensis > Raphia taedigera > Cyperus.

Potential impact of CO2 leakage from carbon capture and storage systems on field bean (Vicia faba).

Capture and geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) has been suggested to be essential to reduce emissions to the atmosphere and aid mitigation of global climate change. However, leakage from transport pipelines or carbon capture and storage (CCS) reservoirs may pose risks to vegetation and contribute to rising atmospheric concentrations [CO(2)]. This study examined effects on seedling emergence and growth when field bean plants (Vicia faba cv.

Recovery of ecosystem carbon fluxes and storage from herbivory.

The carbon (C) sink strength of arctic tundra is under pressure from increasing populations of arctic breeding geese. In this study we examined how CO and CH fluxes, plant biomass and soil C responded to the removal of vertebrate herbivores in a high arctic wet moss meadow that has been intensively used by barnacle geese () for ca. 20 years.

The impact of climate change on ecosystem carbon dynamics at the Scandinavian mountain birch forest-tundra heath ecotone.

Changes in temperature and moisture resulting from climate change are likely to strongly modify the ecosystem carbon sequestration capacity in high-latitude areas, both through vegetation shifts and via direct warming effects on photosynthesis and decomposition. This paper offers a synthesis of research addressing the potential impacts of climate warming on soil processes and carbon fluxes at the forest-tundra ecotone in Scandinavia. Our results demonstrated higher rates of organic matter decomposition in mountain birch forest than in tundra heath soils, with markedly shallower organic matter horizons in the forest.

Habitat type determines herbivory controls over CO2 fluxes in a warmer Arctic.

High-latitude ecosystems store large amounts of carbon (C); however, the C storage of these ecosystems is under threat from both climate warming and increased levels of herbivory. In this study we examined the combined role of herbivores and climate warming as drivers of CO2 fluxes in two typical high-latitude habitats (mesic heath and wet meadow). We hypothesized that both herbivory and climate warming would reduce the C sink strength of Arctic tundra through their combined effects on plant biomass and gross ecosystem photosynthesis and on decomposition rates and the abiotic environment.