Soil respiration and litterfall dynamics along a forest-to-oil palm plantation transition in an Indonesian peatland
Abstract
Poor understanding of biogeochemical processes driving variation in soil CO2 emissions in tropical peatlands limits model capacity to predict the large and growing contribution of peatland disturbance to human-induced GHG emissions. We measured monthly soil total (SR) and heterotrophic (SRh) respiration, concurrently with environmental variables, over 2 years (2012 – 2013) in a primary swamp forest (PF), a drained logged forest (DF) and a 7-year-old oil palm plantation (OP) in a Sumatran peatland. Monthly litterfall was monitored in the forests and litter decomposition rates were assessed at all sites over a period of 250 days. Annual C outputs from SRh (Mg C ha−1 yr−1) were substantially elevated in the disturbed sites (13.7 ± 0.2 in the DF, and 23.6 ± 0.3 and 24.3 ± 0.3 in the OP, with and without drainage canals, respectively) compared to the PF (9.9 ± 0.2). SRh rates rose with increasing disturbance intensity as micro-climatic conditions became drier and warmer. The estimated pruned frond input in the OP (2.1 ± 0.2 Mg C ha−1 yr−1) was less than half the measured litterfall rates in the forests (4.8 ± 0.4 and 4.2 ± 0.3 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in the PF and DF, respectively). Furthermore, litter decomposition (d-1) was higher in the OP (0.0034 ± 0.0001) than in both forests (0.0030 ± 0.0002 and 0.0028 ± 0.0001 in the PF and DF, respectively), implying additional reduction in the peat C sink function at the OP compared to the forests. Our study increases knowledge on mechanisms controlling soil CO2 emissions across land-use change transitions in tropical peatlands, thereby enabling more accurate predictions of GHG emissions from peatland degradation.
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BibTeX
@article{swails2026soil,
title = {{Soil respiration and litterfall dynamics along a forest-to-oil palm plantation transition in an Indonesian peatland}},
author = {Erin Swails and Louis-Pierre Comeau and Kristell Anaïk Hergoualc'H and Jodie Hartill and Louis Verchot},
journal = {Geoderma},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.geoderma.2026.118030},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05759781v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Soil respiration and litterfall dynamics along a forest-to-oil palm plantation transition in an Indonesian peatland
AU - Erin Swails
AU - Louis-Pierre Comeau
AU - Kristell Anaïk Hergoualc'H
AU - Jodie Hartill
AU - Louis Verchot
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/11
JO - Geoderma
DO - 10.1016/j.geoderma.2026.118030
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05759781v1
AB - Poor understanding of biogeochemical processes driving variation in soil CO2 emissions in tropical peatlands limits model capacity to predict the large and growing contribution of peatland disturbance to human-induced GHG emissions. We measured monthly soil total (SR) and heterotrophic (SRh) respiration, concurrently with environmental variables, over 2 years (2012 – 2013) in a primary swamp forest (PF), a drained logged forest (DF) and a 7-year-old oil palm plantation (OP) in a Sumatran peatland. Monthly litterfall was monitored in the forests and litter decomposition rates were assessed at all sites over a period of 250 days. Annual C outputs from SRh (Mg C ha−1 yr−1) were substantially elevated in the disturbed sites (13.7 ± 0.2 in the DF, and 23.6 ± 0.3 and 24.3 ± 0.3 in the OP, with and without drainage canals, respectively) compared to the PF (9.9 ± 0.2). SRh rates rose with increasing disturbance intensity as micro-climatic conditions became drier and warmer. The estimated pruned frond input in the OP (2.1 ± 0.2 Mg C ha−1 yr−1) was less than half the measured litterfall rates in the forests (4.8 ± 0.4 and 4.2 ± 0.3 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in the PF and DF, respectively). Furthermore, litter decomposition (d-1) was higher in the OP (0.0034 ± 0.0001) than in both forests (0.0030 ± 0.0002 and 0.0028 ± 0.0001 in the PF and DF, respectively), implying additional reduction in the peat C sink function at the OP compared to the forests. Our study increases knowledge on mechanisms controlling soil CO2 emissions across land-use change transitions in tropical peatlands, thereby enabling more accurate predictions of GHG emissions from peatland degradation.
SN - 0016-7061
SN - 1872-6259
ER -