Tropical Peatland Ecosystems [Hardcover]

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 carbonwater 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 carbonwater 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 Ni?o-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 4555 GtC of carbon stocks. As a result of land use and development, Indonesia is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases (23 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 carbonwater cycle and climate change.

Tropical Peatland of the World.- Changing Paradigms in the History of Tropical Peatland Research.- Peatland in Indonesia.- Peatland in Malaysia.- Peatland and Peatland Forest in Brunei Darussalam.- Peatland in Kalimantan.- Sustainable Management Model for Peatland Ecosystems in the Riau, Sumatra.- Tropical Peat Formation.- Tropical Peat and Peatland Definition in Indonesia.- Forest Structure and Productivity of Tropical Heath anlþ