Peat Forest Research Articles

Peatland Fire Geotagging Photo for Investigation Tool using Smartphone

One of the ways to control tropical peat fires is to use a combination of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and smartphones for monitoring, reporting, and verification of the location of the fires. The latest smartphones have many sensors, such as a compass, accelerometer, GPS, and a camera, to collect forest activity data from a specific target area. The collected data were then transferred to a cloud server through global mobile communication. This paper discusses a mobile and web application-based approach to collect and analyze user-generated geographical information of human activity data. The paper aims is to promote law enforcement agencies, local government, and fire patrol to consider the use of this low-cost, easy-to-use technology in controlling and reducing the risk of tropical peatland fires. Our mobile application has an easy-to-use mapping technology that allows its users to locate addresses quickly and provides cartographic maps augmented with digital information and high-resolution aerial imagery. This study proposes online citizen reporting as a new approach for law enforcement by aiding local government and fire patrols to conduct monitoring, reporting, and verification to reduce the risk of peat forest fires.

Governing the ungovernable: The politics of disciplining pulpwood and palm oil plantations in Indonesia’s tropical peatland

This paper examines new governmental technologies that are emerging in Indonesia to address socio-ecological crises resulting from the conversion of peat forest landscapes to large-scale agricultural plantations. The early implications of Indonesia’s ‘peatland-fire-free’ policy interventions for palm oil and pulpwood industries, including private sector resistance and contestation to this policy, are investigated. Drawing on the Foucauldian concept of disciplinary governmentality, this article analyses the Government of Indonesia’s (GoI) failed attempts to render large-scale peatland users governable. The GoI introduced two peatland disciplinary strategies: a spatial and hydro-governance approach to governing palm oil and pulpwood plantations in peatland landscapes. However, significant contestation and opposition arise from these policies as the state attempts to apply disciplinary logics upon powerful and prickly actors. In this context, contestation reflects the complexities of the existing political economy of peatland exploitation in Indonesia, which is decisively shaped through structural and environmental violence. The paper outlines the elements that limit the prospects for fully-fledged disciplinary governmentality over peatland areas and highlights the messy, insecure and unfinished nature of environmental governance.

Carbon balance of tropical peat forests at different fire history and implications for carbon emissions.

Accurate assessment of tropical peat forest carbon stocks and impact of fires on carbon pools is required to determine the magnitude of emissions to the atmosphere and to support emissions reduction policies. We assessed total aboveground carbon (AGC) in biomass pools including trees, shrubs, deadwood, litter and char, and peat carbon to develop empirical estimates of peat swamp forest carbon stocks in response to fire and disturbance. In contrast to the common assumption that peat fires combust all AGC, we observed that about half of undisturbed forest AGC, equivalent to about 70Mg C ha-1, remains after one or two recent fires - mainly in dead trees, woody debris and pyrogenic carbon. Both recently burnt and repeatedly burnt peat forests store similar amounts of carbon in the top 10cm of peat when compared with undisturbed forests (70Mg C ha-1), mainly due to increased peat bulk density after fires that compensates for their lower peat C%. The proportion of fuel mass consumed in fire, or combustion factor (CF), is required to make accurate estimates of peat fire emissions for both AGC and peat carbon. This study estimated a CF for AGC (CFAGC) of 0.56, comparable to the default value of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This study estimated a varying CF for peat (CFPEAT) that ranged from 0.4 to 0.68 as depth of burn increased. This revised CFPEAT is one third to one half of the IPCC default value of 1.0. The current assumption of complete combustion of peat (CF=1.0) is widely acknowledged in the literature as oversimplification and is not supported by our field observations or data. This study provides novel empirical data to improve estimates of peat forests carbon stocks and emissions from tropical peat fires.

Strategi pengembangan kawasan ekowisata dengan menggunakan model Community based ecotourism (CBE) di desa Kuala Terusan Kabupaten Pelalawan

Community-based ecotourism is one of the efforts in rural development to improve the local economy. The purpose of this study is to analyze the potential for community-based ecotourism development (CBE) in terms of ecological aspects (flora and fauna characteristics, Carrying capacity and waste management) and socio-economic aspects of culture and local community wisdom and formulate CBE development strategies. The study was conducted in April to July 2019 in the area of natural attractions in the village of Kuala Terusan Pelalawan Regency. The method in this study uses a survey method with a qualitative approach. The results of this study are that the flora found in Kuala Terusan is a type of peat forest and freshwater swamp forest so that there are no special flora that are characteristic of the Kuala Terusan Village area, fauna types in Kuala Terusan are reptile animals, mammals, birds and fish species that exist in the Kampar River. Based on the calculation of physical carrying capacity (Physical Carrying Capacity / PCC) PCC values obtained for swimming / snorkeling activities can accommodate 40 people / day. Activities carried out by Kuala Terusan tourist visitors are accompanied by beach tours and family picnics. The family picnic and beach tourism site has a utilization area of 3,000 m2. Carrying capacity that can accommodate tourists for beach tourism activities is 240 people / day. Facilities still need improvements such as in the processing of waste that has not been going well. CBE development strategies that can be carried out include planning CBE development programs, increasing stakeholder knowledge and awareness, formulating the concept of ecotourism with the government and involving community groups, developing food (local snacks typical of the Kuala Terusan region), improving the economy of local communities, utilizing the important issues of natural forest and the sustainability of nature, utilizing and enforcing existing regulations to support the community-based ecotourism development program at Kuala Terusan Village.

Depositional environment of Upper Paleocene – Middle Eocene series of the Lesser Himalaya, Central Nepal

Paleocene–Eocene epoch was the turning point when the Indian subcontinent experienced maximum isolation before it collided with Eurasia. Intense sedimentation occurred in late Paleocene in the foreland basins of young Himalaya, marking the beginning of a major transgression on the Indian subcontinent. In central Himalaya (Nepal), the synorogenic stratigraphy recorded the depositional environment changes from salt-water to brackish-water and even to fresh-water condition, indicating slight and gradual regressive phase. We report petrography, U–Pb detrital zircons ages, whole-rock geochemistry data from sandstone in Cretaceous–Paleocene, Eocene, and lower Miocene of the Lesser Himalaya, central Nepal. The Eocene and Miocene sequences have small Neoproterozoic to Cambrian age zircon populations indicating multiple source terrains. The whole-rock geochemistry supports the unroofing history documented by U–Pb zircon ages, the succession belongs to foreland basin, an area between the active and passive continental margins tectonic setting. Petrography data indicates a recycled orogenic provenance.For the first time, we identify the Eocene coal was deposited in tropical and humid conditions based on fauna and flora, geochemistry, fission-track, and Zircon-Helium (ZHe) age. The organic geochemical and organic petrological data suggests the depositional environment of Jhadewa coal of central Nepal in anoxic terrestrial condition signifying a peat-swamp flood basin environment. Therefore, we suggest that the studied coal is formed from ancient submerged peat forests in swampy environments subjected to the geological forces of heat and pressure over millions of years and the tectonic collision might have played an essential role for burial and formation of lignite to bituminous coal.

Peat-forest burning smoke in Maritime Continent: Impacts on receptor PM2.5 and implications at emission sources.

This study characterizes the impacts of transported peat-forest (PF) burning smoke on an urban environment and evaluates associated source burning conditions based on carbon properties of PM2.5 at the receptor site. We developed and validated a three-step classification that enables systematic and more rapid identification of PF smoke impacts on a tropical urban environment with diverse emissions and complex atmospheric processes. This approach was used to characterize over 300 daily PM2.5 data collected during 2011-2013, 2015 and 2019 in Singapore. A levoglucosan concentration of ≥0.1μg/m3 criterion indicates dominant impacts of transported PF smoke on urban fine aerosols. This approach can be used in other ambient environments for practical and location-dependent applications. Organic carbon (OC) concentrations (as OC indicator) can be an alternate to levoglucosan for assessing smoke impacts on urban environments. Applying the OC concentration indicator identifies smoke impacts on ∼80% of daily samples in 2019 and shows an accuracy of 51-86% for hourly evaluation. Following the systematic identification of urban PM2.5 predominantly affected by PF smoke in 2011-2013, 2015 and 2019, we assessed the concentration ratio of char-EC/soot-EC as an indicator of smoldering- or flaming-dominated burning emissions. When under the influence of transported PF smoke, the mean concentration ratio of char-EC to soot-EC in urban PM2.5 decreased by >70% from 8.2 in 2011 to 2.3 in 2015 but increased to 3.8 in 2019 (p<0.05). The reversed trend with a 65% increase from 2015 to 2019 shows stronger smoldering relative to flaming, indicating a higher level of soil moisture at smoke origins, possibly associated with rewetting and revegetating peatlands since 2016.

Dynamic of groundwater table, peat subsidence and carbon emission impacted from deforestation in tropical peatland, Riau, Indonesia

Drainage canals have triggered peat subsidence and lowered groundwater table, enabling wildfires and peat degradation in Riau, Indonesia. This study examines the changes on groundwater table, peat subsidence rate, and carbon emission in response to deforestation and land cover changes. We established 31 study sites in some land cover types (i.e., oil palm plantation, acacia regrowth and shrub), with 124 monitoring shallow wells and 31 subsidence poles that were setup and have been monitored for 18 months. Groundwater table of all plots averaged -55 cm in Dosan Village, higher than that in Dayun Village (-66 cm). In accordance, peat had subsided in faster rate (8.4 cm year−1) in Dayun Village than that in Dosan (3.3 cm year−1). This average annual groundwater table has resulted in carbon emissions from peat decomposition up to 66 t CO2eq ha−1 year−1. On the other hand, canal discharge of these sites ranged from 2 to 73 dm3 s−1, averaging 26 dm3 s−1. These results evidence that land uses converted from peat forest, and the dimension of canal control the decrease in groundwater table, the pace of peat subsidence, and rate of carbon emissions in tropical peatlands.

Analysis of peat bacterial diversity in oil palm plantations and a logged forest in Jambi, Indonesia, using PCR-DGGE technique

Jambi Province has around 617,000 hectares of peatlands spread across six districts, including Tanjung Jabung Timur. Reports on microbial diversity under different land cover, especially those using molecular techniques, were very limited. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of peatlands conversion on soil bacterial biodiversity, through the analysis of 16S-rDNA gene employing polymerase chain reaction combined with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). Peat soil samples were taken from the topsoil (rhizosphere) of 3 sites, i.e. (A) conventional drained (50 to 70 cm) oil palm plantation, (B) shallow drained (30 to 50 cm) oil palm plantation, and (C) logged-over peat forest. Sequential analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene showed that 15 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) could be grouped into 3 phyla, namely Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria. The alignment result of nucleotide shows that 4 of 15 bands of DGGE were identified as the uncultured bacterium (Sulfurospirillum, Acidobacteria, Rhodoplane, and Magnetospirillum). Overall, the Shannon-Weaver biodiversity index showed that the conversion of peatlands to oil palm plantation increased bacterial biodiversity. This could be attributed to drainage, ferlilization, and biomass inputs under the oil palm plantations. The higher biodiversity under oil palm plantations also implies a higher rate of peat decomposition under this land use, relative to the forest.

Water Retention and Saturation Degree of Peat Soil in Sebangau Catchment Area, Central Kalimantan

Water is an essential factor in forming, utilization, management, and sustainability of peat soil. This study was to obtain characteristics of water retention and porosity of peat soil. Peat samples were taken from the Natural Laboratory of Peat Forest, Central Kalimantan at shallow, medium, and deep peat at 0-50cm (surface) and 50-100 cm (subsurface), while laboratory analyses carried out at Soil Laboratory, Universitas Gajahmada. The result shows that volumetric moisture content at the surface lower than subsurface, except for deep peat. The total pore for the surface was 84.67-86.98%, while subsurface layers were 83.53-86.93%. For surface layer, saturated degree (S) medium peat higher than shallow and deep peat, while for shallow subsurface peat higher than medium and deep peat. S value all pF levels of surface for medium and deep peat higher than the subsurface. Bulk density for surface was 0.094g.cm-3 (rb(wet)) and 0.22g.cm-3(rb (dry)) for shallow peat while medium peat are 0.084–0.087g.cm-3(rb(wet)) and 0.18–0.20g.cm-3(rb(dry)), deep peat 0.064–0.090g.cm-3(rb(wet)) and 0.11–0.16g.cm-3(rb(dry)). For subsurface, bulk density of medium peat are 0.094–0.107g.cm-3 (rb(wet)) and 0.16–0.20g.cm-3 (rb(dry)), deep peat are 0.067–0.090g.cm-3 (rb(wet)) and 0.10–0.17g.cm-3 (rb(wet)). The particle density of surface and subsurface for shallow peat higher than medium and deep peat, with values 0.67-0.77g.cm3, 0.61-0.66g.cm3, and 0.53-0.63g.cm3 for shallow, medium, and deep peat, respectively. Total pores for the surface layer decrease with increasing dry bulk density (R = 0.624) and particle density (R = 0.375). This fact seems to confirm a directly proportional relationship between parameters bulk and particle density with total pores.

Development and application of synthetic NP dispersions to prevent and extinguish forest and peat fires (Review)

Introduction. The analysis of flame retardants and extinguishing agents used for preventing and extinguishing fires in an ecosystem is carried out. It is shown that at present there are no weatherproof, environmentally friendly and cost effective extinguishing agents capable of stopping wood and peat burning. Purpose and objectives. Development of cost effective and environmentally friendly synthetic agents capable of both flame retarding and extinguishing natural combustible materials. Materials and methods. Synthetic dispersions of ammonium phosphates of two- and three-valence metals, as well as wood and peat fireproofed by them are the object of the study. Physical and chemical properties of synthesis products in comparison with their fire retarding efficiency are examined. Fireproofing, fire extinguishing, as well as physical and chemical properties of synthesized products are determined using GOST-regulated methods of thermal and chemical analysis, scanning electron microscopy and original methods. Results and discussion. The formulation of Kompleksil synthetic compound effective in extinguishing and fireproofing wood and peat is optimized using a full factorial experiment. At the same time, the inflow of volatile nitrogen containing products into the gaseous phase is identified as the dominating burning inhibition process common for natural combustible materials. The weather resistance (preservation of fireproof properties in respect of forest combustible materials at 79 mm precipitation), forest and environment enhancement (improvement of mineral nutrition conditions and growth of forest plant communities) properties of Kompleksil compound are identified. Conclusions. A cost effective synthetic compound based on natural mineral materials showing fireproofing and extinguishing efficiency when protecting forest combustible materials and peat is developed. This compound was tested in the process of extinguishing real wildfires; its weather resistance is identified, and the positive response of forest plant communities to the application of this multiple action compound is registered. The use of Kompleksil allows to reduce time expenditures and fire extinguishing agent consumption when extinguishing wildfires, which significantly reduces material damage.

Оценка защитного потенциала почвенного покрова Московской области к загрязнению тяжёлыми металлами и металлоидами

Heavy metals and other trace elements that are not subject to degradation are among the priority pollutants. Significant amounts of heavy metals and related elements with variable valence are deposited on the soil surface as part of aerosols. Accumulating in the soil, they are very slowly removed from it, only changing the level of content or the state during migration, turning the soil over time into a source of secondary pollution. In this regard, an extremely urgent task is to assess the territory, especially such a highly developed and densely populated area as the Moscow Region, in terms of its protective potential to heavy metal pollution. The paper proposes and tested an algorithm for the cartographic assessment of the protective potential of the soil and vegetation cover of the region using GIS analysis methods based on the database “Digital medium-scale soil map of the Moscow region” and a vector map of forest cover. The formula used for calculations includes data on the soil texture, the content of organic matter in soil, the position of the soil in the landscape and the degree of forest cover of the territory. According to the proposed approach, in the Moscow region, the soil cover, taking into account the forest cover, forms 4 groups according to the level of protective potential for contamination with heavy metals and metalloids. The maximum estimate was obtained for noneroded sod-podzolic soils of medium or fine texture, gray forest soils, chernozems and peat bog soils under forest vegetation (17 % of the area). Unerroded soddy-podzolic soils of varying degrees of podzolization and gleying (45 %) received an average rating. Even lower is the protective potential of 22 % of the territory represented by eroded gray forest soils, various sod-podzolic, alluvial and peat bog soils. This group is the most heterogeneous in terms of soil texture, organic matter content and degree of forest cover. The group with a minimum protective potential included eroded soils, soils of gully-girder complexes, sod-podzolic soils of coarst texture, as well as alluvial peat and peaty soils (about 16 %).

Confidence Analysis of Hotspot as Peat Forest Fire Indicator

Indonesia has recorded 14.9 million hectares of peat forest that continue to be deforested due to fire across Sumatra and Kalimantan. To operate a successful firefight, fast detection is a key element. Hotspot that appeared consecutively in more than two days is a strong indicator of fire existence. As the interest in data mining arose, an advanced technique can be implemented toward hotspot dataset into finding solutions. Many previous works have been carried out to mine sequence patterns and succeeded in determining as well as predicting areas with high occurrence of fire. However, none of the studies analyses the outliers, such as several hotspots which confidence decrease significantly in an adjacent interval of time. Confidence determines the quality of hotspot, with a value above 70% strongly indicates that fire spot exist. This study generated sequence patterns using the SPADE algorithm and analyses 21 hotspots considered as outliers using the Landsat-8 image. The result shows that 85.71% of hotspots have decreased confidence due to haze cover.

PEAT FOREST HEALTH ANALYSIS ON LANDSAT 8 OLI / TIRS IMAGERY USING NDVI METHOD IN KOTAWARINGIN TIMUR REGENCY

The degradation of peatland ecosystem has been a mayor impact on the local environment as well as its surroundings such as fires, irriversible drying and dome collapse. This paper presents the application of satellite remote sensing dan GIS techniques to detect and identify peat forest healt in Kotawaringin Timur, Cental Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. Mapping the spasial distribution of peat forest healt is important for making in land management and mitigation of peatland forest fires. This study uses the integration beetwen GIS software and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS satellite data to identify peatland healt using NDVI in Kotawaringin Timur Regency. This area were picked up as pilot project area for this research because these areas historically had many fire spots on last few years. The result data processing of landsat 8 satellite image shows that 116586,4 hectares of Kotawaringin Timur area is disturbed peatland. Base on the result of landsat 8 image processing data can be seen some areas of Kotawaringin Timur indicate green color means the peat area, and the health level of the peat forest in Kotawaringin Timur Regency is already in the damaged category.&#x0D; Keywords: Peat forest healt, NDVI, GIS, Landsat 8

Meeting the sustainable development goals in a tropical climate

AbstractThis article reflects on the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies (FACS) Citation Award Lecture delivered in the Industrial Technology Research Institute Symposium on CO2 Utilization and Green Technology during the 18th Asian Chemical Congress held in Taipei, December 12, 2019. Malaysia produces sizable amounts of palm oil and palm kernel oil, with palm fronds and tree trunks as the main waste. At the Malaysia Japan International Institute of Technology, the biomass was decomposed to produce fine chemicals, used as substrate for mushroom growth, and converted to bio‐coke for heat energy. A notable difference has been found regarding the emission of greenhouse gases from a natural peat forest and those from the oil palm plantation converted from peatlands, where in the palm plantation, water table is lowered and aerobic processes occurs, resulting in more CO2 being released compared to CH4. The introduction of fertilizers to the plantation resulted in more N2O being released. The team has also pioneered a project to plant temperate vegetables. Cooling pipes (16–18°C with circulating water cooled by chiller) were embedded within each thermal conditioning soil plot. Lettuce and radish, the experimental plants, showed good growth in the thermal conditioning soil due to nitrogen‐fixing bacteria, which were destroyed at a higher temperature.

Effect of High Concentrations of Wood Ash on Soil Properties and Development of Young Norway Spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) and Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.)

Wood ash recycling can be a reasonable method for energy producers to decrease waste problems. Using wood ash as a fertilizer or liming material could improve soil macro and micronutrient content in peat soils. Therefore, the effect of wood ash on Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) juvenile growth and nutrient content in the soil after spreading wood ash in medium to high doses before and after planting seedlings was investigated in peat forests in the Eastern part of Latvia. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of high doses of wood ash on soil properties and the growth of planted Norway spruce and Scots pine seedlings up to 10 years after experiment establishment. Wood ash was applied a year before planting seedlings in doses of 5 and 10 t ha−1 and right after planting in concentrations of 5, 10, 15, and 20 t ha−1. Changes in macronutrient content (i.e., phosphorus [P], and potassium [K]) and tree height and diameter at breast height were measured at one and 10 years after establishing the experiment. Fertilization one year prior to planting the seedlings exhibited a positive response on tree height and diameter growth compared to fertilization after the seedlings were planted. Soil samples from fertilized plots one year after establishment contained more P and K in the soil than the control plots. Wood ash application of the highest doses did not reach the overdose limit, as the tree growth (height and diameter at breast height) results of fertilized plots were similar to those of the control fields; therefore, no significant negative effect on tree growth was discovered.

Mechanism and role of seeded native grasses to immobilize nitrogen on harvested blanket peat forests for protection of water courses.

Forest harvesting activities on peatlands have long been associated with nutrient leaching and deterioration of downstream water quality. This study aims to assess the effect of grass seeding practice on harvested blanket peatlands to immobilize N and reduce its export to water courses. First, a plot-scale field experiment was conducted by seeding with two grass species (Holcus lanatus and Agrostis capillaris) to study the N uptake potential from a harvested area. Secondly, a simulated rainfall experiment was conducted to study the effect of these grasses on reducing N leaching from surface peat using laboratory flume approach. In the end, the role of seeded grasses in removing N from nutrient-rich throughflow water was assessed using simulated overland flow experiment. The results showed that the seeded grasses had the potential to uptake over 30 kg ha-1 of N in the first year after seeding on harvested peatlands, whereas it takes over 2.5 years to establish the same level of N uptake by natural re-vegetation (non-grassed). In the simulated rainfall experiment, the inorganic N (NH4+-N and NO3--N) leaching in surface runoff from grassed flumes was 72% lower (453 mg m-2) than non-grassed flumes (1643 mg m-2). In the simulated overland flow experiment, the N retention by grassed flumes was significantly higher (98%) as compared to non-grassed flumes (70%) in the simulated overland flow experiment. Comparatively higher concentrations of NH4+-N and NO3--N in soil porewaters of non-grassed flumes suggest that this N retention by non-grassed flumes is less sustainable and is likely to be leached in runoff in subsequent flow events. The results from all three experiments in this study suggest that seeded grasses are a major sink of N on harvested blanket peatland forests. Immobilization of N onsite using the grass seeding and mini-buffer practice could be an efficient and a feasible mean of reducing N export from harvested blanket peatland forests in order to protect the sensitive water courses. However, the sustainability of retention and immobilization of N by grasses needs to be studied further in long-term field-scale experiments on multiple peatland sites.

Identifying and addressing knowledge gaps for improving greenhouse gas emissions estimates from tropical peat forest fires

Tropical peatlands are areas of high carbon density that are important in biosphere-atmosphere interactions. Drainage and burning of tropical peatlands releases about 5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet there is great uncertainty in these estimates. Our comprehensive literature review of parameters required to calculate GHG emissions from burnt peat forests, following the international guidelines, revealed many gaps in knowledge of carbon pools and few recent supporting studies. To improve future estimates of the total ecosystem carbon balance and peatfire emissions this study aimed to account for all carbon pools: aboveground, deadwood, pyrogenic carbon (PyC) and peat of single and repeatedly burnt peat forests. A further aim was to identify the minimum sampling intensity required to detect with 80% power significant differences in these carbon pools among long unburnt, recently burnt and repeatedly burnt peat swamp forests.About 90 Mg C ha−1 remains aboveground as deadwood after a single fire and half of this remains after a second fire. One fire produces 4.5 ± 0.6 Mg C ha−1 of PyC, with a second fire increasing this to 7.1 ± 0.8 Mg C ha−1. For peat swamp forests these aboveground carbon pools are rarely accounted in estimates of emissions following multiple fires, while PyC has not been included in the total peat carbon mass balance. Peat bulk density and peat carbon content change with fire frequency, yet these parameters often remain constant in the published emission estimates following a single and multiple fires. Our power analysis indicated that as few as 12 plots are required to detect meaningful differences between fire treatments for the major carbon pools. Further field studies directed at improving the parameters for calculating carbon balance of disturbed peat forest ecosystems are required to better constrain peatfire GHG emission estimates.

Spatial and temporal variability of soil N2 O and CH4 fluxes along a degradation gradient in a palm swamp peat forest in the Peruvian Amazon.

Mauritia flexuosa palm swamp, the prevailing Peruvian Amazon peatland ecosystem, is extensively threatened by degradation. The unsustainable practice of cutting whole palms for fruit extraction modifies forest's structure and composition and eventually alters peat‐derived greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We evaluated the spatiotemporal variability of soil N2O and CH4 fluxes and environmental controls along a palm swamp degradation gradient formed by one undegraded site (Intact), one moderately degraded site (mDeg) and one heavily degraded site (hDeg). Microscale variability differentiated hummocks supporting live or cut palms from surrounding hollows. Macroscale analysis considered structural changes in vegetation and soil microtopography as impacted by degradation. Variables were monitored monthly over 3 years to evaluate intra‐ and inter‐annual variability. Degradation induced microscale changes in N2O and CH4 emission trends and controls. Site‐scale average annual CH4 emissions were similar along the degradation gradient (225.6 ± 50.7, 160.5 ± 65.9 and 169.4 ± 20.7 kg C ha−1 year−1 at the Intact, mDeg and hDeg sites, respectively). Site‐scale average annual N2O emissions (kg N ha−1 year−1) were lower at the mDeg site (0.5 ± 0.1) than at the Intact (1.3 ± 0.6) and hDeg sites (1.1 ± 0.4), but the difference seemed linked to heterogeneous fluctuations in soil water‐filled pore space (WFPS) along the forest complex rather than to degradation. Monthly and annual emissions were mainly controlled by variations in WFPS, water table level (WT) and net nitrification for N2O; WT, air temperature and net nitrification for CH4. Site‐scale N2O emissions remained steady over years, whereas CH4 emissions rose exponentially with increased precipitation. While the minor impact of degradation on palm swamp peatland N2O and CH4 fluxes should be tested elsewhere, the evidenced large and variable CH4 emissions and significant N2O emissions call for improved modeling of GHG dynamics in tropical peatlands to test their response to climate changes.

Peatland Management Based on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

Most people in Indonesia utilize and cultivate peatlands based on their unwise habits. They clear the peatlands by burning to be planted. If this condition is left alone, it certainly will threaten the existence and sustainability of peatland ecosystems in the future. Therefore, a breakthrough is needed to solve this problem by actively involving all interested parties. In the context of peatland maintenance specifically and environmental preservation efforts in general, the development of peat forests into peat arboretum is very important. Especially if the existence of this peat arboretum can be used as a educational facility managed by the community by applying the concept of education for sustainable development (ESD). Peatland management through the ESD-based Peat Arboretum can be a model in an effort to encourage people to be constructive and creative in facing the challenges of global warming. Moreover, this effort is also expected to create a resilient community in the sustainable management of peatlands.

Environmental Communication Model of Farmer Community in Peatlands Ecotourism Development

This study aims to find out the environmental communication model of farmer communities in overcoming the problem of peatland fires through ecotourism management in Bukit Batu sub-district, Bengkalis-Indonensia. This research uses the study of communication ethnoecology, by understanding the problem directly and participating. The results of this study indicate that environmental communication through community-based tourism can preserve the peatland environment in a sustainable manner. Communities have their own interpretations and awareness of the meaning of environmental symbols that are around them. Community environmental communication for the development of peat arboretum ecotourism was built in conjunction with Pertamina's CSR through community empowerment in overcoming forest fires with the Kampung Gambut Berdikari program. Pertamina's CSR strengthens community understanding in increasing public awareness of the problem of peat forest fires and the land managment. Peat arboretum as ecotourism and educational tour is useful to convey messages to change understanding, perspective, and influence people's behavior as well as visitors. The model of environmental communication for the development of peat ecotourism by the community is based on friendship, deliberation and mutual assistance as a form of community local wisdom.