Abstract
Methane emission depends on the rates of methane production, consumption and ability of soil and plants to transport the gas to the soil surface and also within soil particles. The objective of this study was to determine CH4 fluxes horizontally and vertically from the floor and wall of the pit of a tropical peat soil. The horizontal emissions in the dry and wet seasons were 2.96 t CH4 ha-1yr-1 and 4.27 t CH4 ha-1yr-1, respectively and the vertical emissions were 0.36 t CH4 ha-1yr-1 and 0.51 t CH4 ha-1yr-1, respectively. The total amount of the horizontal and vertical emissions in the dry and wet seasons were 3.32 t CH4 ha-1yr-1 and 4.78 t CH4 ha-1yr-1, respectively. Horizontal emission was higher in the wet season due to an increase in the water table which resulted in an increase of CH4 emission. Thus, there is a need for direct CH4 measurement from cultivated peat soils to ensure that CH4 emission is neither underestimated nor overestimated.
 J Bangladesh Agril Univ 17(3): 359–362, 2019
Highlights
According to Farmer et al (2011), during wet season, CH4 is emitted in the form of bubbles which are transported by molecular diffusion through the aerobic layer of the peat
Methane emission in the morning (1.02 t ha-1 yr-1) was the highest during the wet season followed by early morning (0.99 t ha-1yr-1)
The lowest CH4 emission occurred at noon (0.72 t ha-1yr-1)
Summary
Peat soils have been cleared, developed, and cultivated for large scale plantations due to their positive contribution to Malaysia’s economic growth in agricultural sector. Cultivation of pineapples on peat soils has become profitable and popular in Malaysia. Malaysia is known to be the only country in the world that uniquely and largely cultivates pineapples on peat soils. This practice has been in existence for nearly a century. Concerns by NGOs has been expressed that increasing cultivation of pineapples on peat soils lead to increase in the emissions of harmful greenhouse gas such as methane (CH4). There is lack of information on soil CH4 emissions horizontally and vertically from pineapple cultivation on drained tropical peatlands
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