Tropical peat

Tropical peatis a type ofhistosolthat is found in tropical latitudes, including South East Asia, Africa, and Central and South America.^[2]Tropical peat mostly consists of dead organic matter from trees instead ofspaghnumwhich are commonly found in temperate peat.^[3]This soils usually contain high organic matter content, exceeding 75% with dry low bulk density around 0.2 mg/m³(0.0 gr/cu ft).^[4]

Areas of tropical peat are found mostly inSouth America(about 46% by area)^[5]although they are also found in Africa, Central America, Asia and elsewhere around the tropics. Tropical peatlands are significantcarbon sinksand store large amounts ofcarbonand their destruction can have a significant impact on the amount of atmosphericcarbon dioxide.Tropical peatlands are vulnerable to destabilisation through human and climate induced changes. Estimates of the area (and hence volume) of tropical peatlands vary but a reasonable estimate is in the region of 380,000 square kilometres (150,000 sq mi).

Although tropical peatlands only cover about 0.25% of the Earth's land surface they contain 50,000–70,000 million tonnes of carbon (about 3% globalsoil carbon). In addition, tropical peatlands support diverseecosystemsand are home to a number of endangered species including theorangutan.

The nativepeat swamp forestscontain a number of valuable timber-producing trees plus a range of other products of value to local communities, such as bark, resins and latex. Land-use changes and fire, mainly associated with plantation development and logging (deforestationand drainage), are reducing this carbon store and contributing togreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The problems that result from development of tropical peatlands stem mainly from a lack of understanding of the complexities of this ecosystem and the fragility of the relationship between peat and forest. Once the forest is removed and the peat is drained, the surface peatoxidisesand loses stored carbon rapidly to the atmosphere (as carbon dioxide). This results in progressive loss of the peat surface, leading to local flooding and, due to the large areas involved, global climate change. Failure to account for such emissions results in underestimates of the rate of increase in atmospheric GHGs and the extent of human inducedclimate change.

References[edit]

^Martin, P., Cherukuru, N., Tan, A.S., Sanwlani, N., Mujahid, A. and Müller, M.(2018) "Distribution and cycling of terrigenous dissolved organic carbon in peatland-draining rivers and coastal waters of Sarawak, Borneo",Biogeosciences,15(2): 6847–6865.doi:10.5194/bg-15-6847-2018.Material was copied from this source, which is available under aCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
^Wu, Yuanqiao; Chan, Ed; Melton, Joe R.; Verseghy, Diana L. (2017-07-13)."A map of global peatland distribution created using machine learning for use in terrestrial ecosystem and earth system models".Geoscientific Model Development Discussions:1–21.doi:10.5194/gmd-2017-152.ISSN 1991-959X.
^Rieley, J. O. (1996)."The extent and nature of tropical peat swamps".Tropical Lowland Peatlands of Southeast Asia. Proceedings of a Workshop on Integrated Planning and Management of Tropical Lowland Peatlands Held at Cisarua, Indonesia, 3–8 July 1992. IUCN, Gland Switzerland.
^Deboucha, S.; Hashim, R.; Alwi, A. (2008)."Engineering properties of stabilized tropical peat soils".UM Research Repository.University of Malaya.Retrieved2018-11-02.
^Murdiyarso, D.; Román-Cuesta, R. M.; Verchot, L. V.; Herold, M.; Gumbricht, T.; Herold, N.; Martius, C. (23 June 2017)."New map reveals more peat in the tropics".CIFOR Infobriefs.doi:10.17528/cifor/006452.

External links[edit]

[1] Martin, P., Cherukuru, N., Tan, A.S., Sanwlani, N., Mujahid, A. and Müller, M.(2018) "Distribution and cycling of terrigenous dissolved organic carbon in peatland-draining rivers and coastal waters of Sarawak, Borneo",Biogeosciences,15(2): 6847–6865.doi:10.5194/bg-15-6847-2018.Material was copied from this source, which is available under aCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

[2] Wu, Yuanqiao; Chan, Ed; Melton, Joe R.; Verseghy, Diana L. (2017-07-13)."A map of global peatland distribution created using machine learning for use in terrestrial ecosystem and earth system models".Geoscientific Model Development Discussions:1–21.doi:10.5194/gmd-2017-152.ISSN 1991-959X.

[3] Rieley, J. O. (1996)."The extent and nature of tropical peat swamps".Tropical Lowland Peatlands of Southeast Asia. Proceedings of a Workshop on Integrated Planning and Management of Tropical Lowland Peatlands Held at Cisarua, Indonesia, 3–8 July 1992. IUCN, Gland Switzerland.

[4] Deboucha, S.; Hashim, R.; Alwi, A. (2008)."Engineering properties of stabilized tropical peat soils".UM Research Repository.University of Malaya.Retrieved2018-11-02.

[5] Murdiyarso, D.; Román-Cuesta, R. M.; Verchot, L. V.; Herold, M.; Gumbricht, T.; Herold, N.; Martius, C. (23 June 2017)."New map reveals more peat in the tropics".CIFOR Infobriefs.doi:10.17528/cifor/006452.

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v t e Soil classification
World Reference Base for Soil Resources(1998–)	Acrisols Alisols Andosols Anthrosols Arenosols Calcisols Cambisols Chernozem Cryosols Durisols Ferralsols Fluvisols Gleysols Gypsisols Histosol Kastanozems Leptosols Lixisols Luvisols Nitisols Phaeozems Planosols Plinthosols Podzols Regosols Retisols Solonchaks Solonetz Stagnosol Technosols Umbrisols Vertisols
USDA soil taxonomy	Alfisols Andisols Aridisols Entisols Gelisols Histosols Inceptisols Mollisols Oxisols Spodosols Ultisols Vertisols
Other systems	FAO soil classification(1974–1998) Unified Soil Classification System AASHTO Soil Classification System Référentiel pédologique(French classification system) Canadian system of soil classification Australian Soil Classification Polish Soil Classification 1938 USDA soil taxonomy List of U.S. state soils List of vineyard soil types
Non-systematic soil types	Sand Silt Clay Loam Topsoil Subsoil Soil crust Claypan Hardpan Gypcrust Caliche Parent material Pedosphere Laimosphere Rhizosphere Bulk soil Alkali soil Bay mud Blue goo Brickearth Brown earth Calcareous grassland Dark earth Dry quicksand Duplex soil Eluvium Expansive clay Fill dirt Fuller's earth Hydrophobic soil Loess Lunar soil Martian soil Mud Muskeg Paleosol Peat Prime farmland Quicksand Serpentine soil Spodic soil Stagnogley Subaqueous soil Takir Terra preta Terra rossa Tropical peat Yedoma
Types of soil

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