Tropical Peatlands

This book is an excellent resource for scientists, political decision makers, and students interested in the impact of peatlands on climate change and ecosystem function, containing a plethora of recent research results such as monitoring-sensing-modeling for carbon–water flux/storage, biodiversity and peatland management in tropical regions. It is estimated that more than 23 million hectares (62 %) of the total global tropical peatland area are located in Southeast Asia, in lowland or coastal areas of East Sumatra, Kalimantan, West Papua, Papua New Guinea, Brunei, Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak and Southeast Thailand. Tropical peatland has a vital carbon–water storage function and is host to a huge diversity of plant and animal species. Peatland ecosystems are extremely vulnerable to climate change and the impacts of human activities such as logging, drainage and conversion to agricultural land. In Southeast Asia, severe episodic droughts associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, in combination with over-drainage, forest degradation, and land-use changes, have caused widespread peatland fires and microbial peat oxidation. Indonesia's 20 Mha peatland area is estimated to include about 45–55 GtC of carbon stocks. As a result of land use and development, Indonesia is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases (2–3 Gtons carbon dioxide equivalent per year), 80 % of which is due to deforestation and peatland loss. Thus, tropical peatlands are key ecosystems in terms of the carbon–water cycle and climate change.

In this "Tropical Peatland Eco-management" book, eco-management is new terminology as an abbreviation of "ecology-based management for natural capital enhancement". Key concept on this eco-management is derived from previous book: "Tropical Peatland Ecosystem"(Springer, 2015, eds. by M. Osaki and N. Tsuji). Based on this new concept, this book thoroughly examines tropical peatland eco-management for scientists, political decision makers, governmental officials, land managers, students, and NGO/NPOs who are interested in 1) what the impact of peatland on climate change and ecosystem function, 2) how the management of disturbed peatland, and 3) drawing global scale restoration mechanisms of peatland and wetland. In tropical peatland, a large amount of GHGs (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) is emitted due to the unappropriate development and inadequate management of peatland. The peatland ecosystems consist of the carbon–water complex, which is affected easily by the impact of human and climate change. Throughout much research of tropical peatland, the problems that result from development of tropical peatland are found to stem mainly from a lack of understanding of the complexities of this ecosystem and the fragility of the relationship between peat and forest and also between carbon and water. In past, almost all peatland development and management system have been generally designed on “water drainage system”. On the contrast of old system, an innovated eco- management is, here, proposed as “water irrigation system”, including water cycling and natural capital enhancement. Through this book readers will learn the advanced peatland eco-management, with more practical methods and procedure based on ecosystem knowledge.

This book focuses on eco-evaluation system monitoring and sensing, carbon-water modeling, mapping, and disaster prediction. It is the 3rd book on tropical peatland issues, following 1st "Tropical Peatland Ecosystem" and 2nd "Tropical Peatland Eco-management" publications. Tropical peatland is also a wetland, mangrove, and rainforest. With this nature, two major key elements of tropical peatland are water and forest. This book introduces the relationship and interaction among water, oxygen, and nutrients as well as aspects of the forest as the driving force of carbon stock and the carbon cycle. Eco-evaluation system is key to conserving, managing, and restoring tropical peatlands, however comprehensive system for Eco-evaluation in the Tropics is not yet established. This book reviews and proposes Eco-evaluation methods in the Tropics Ecosystem, focusing mainly on the peatland ecosystem and others, covering Social Capital such as Credit, Bonds, National Accounting, etc.

Distribution of tropical peat; Formation of peats; The main characteristics of tropical peats; Classification; Agricultural potential; Reclamation problems; Agricultural management; Energy use of peat; Environmental aspects of reclamation.

Key messages A new global wetlands map, which uses a multisource approach (satellite, climatic and topographic data) and is underpinned by an expert system model with high spatial detail (232 x 232 m2), is now available. The map suggests that much more peat exists in the tropics than was previously reported.Unprecedented areas and volumes of peatlands, three times the size of previous estimates, are identified in the tropics, mainly outside Asia.Brazil emerges to be the main host of peat areas and volumes, closely followed by Indonesia.Tropical and sub-tropical peatland-hosting countries in all continents can use the map to direct, locate and prioritize conservation and management of wetlands and peatlands in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation.Scientific engagement should be continued through intensive field campaigns to validate these new peat hotspots; the interactive map will facilitate this process.

Views on the dynamics of tropical forests are changing rapidly with the recognition that their environment is variable on the decadal to century scale. Fluctuating climatic conditions partly determine tropical forest structure, species composition and dynamics. Tropical communities are also highly contingent in space and time with respect to site and historical factors. Tropical forests have experienced to some degree this disturbance regime in the past, but climatologists are now predicting increasingly frequent extreme events in the new century. The combination of increasing deforestation and land-use conversion by man plus an increasingly variable environment means a situation that could be very difficult to manage.