A record of Late Pleistocene and Holocene carbon accumulation and climate change from an equatorial peat bog (Kalimantan, Indonesia): implications for past, present and future carbon dynamics

Abstract

S. H. 2004. A record of Late Pleistocene and Holocene carbon accumulation and climate change from an equatorial peat bog (Kalimantan, Indonesia): implications for past, present and future carbon dynamics.ABSTRACT: A 9.5 m core from an inland peatland in Kalimantan, Indonesia, reveals organic matter accumulation started around 26 000 cal. yr BP, providing the oldest reported initiation date for lowland ombrotrophic peat formation in SE Asia. The core shows clear evidence for differential rates of peat formation and carbon storage. A short period of initial accumulation is followed by a slow rate during the LGM, with fastest accumulation during the Holocene. Between $ 13 000 and 8000 cal. yr BP, >450 cm of peat were deposited, with highest rates of peat (>2 mm yr À1 ) and carbon (>90 g C m À2 yr À1 ) accumulation between 9530 and 8590 cal. yr BP. These data suggest that Kalimantan peatlands acted as a large sink of atmospheric CO 2 at this time. Slower rates of peat (0.15-0.38 mm yr À1 ) and carbon (7.4-24.0 g C m À2 yr À1 ) accumulation between $ 8000 and 500 cal. yr BP coincide with rapid peat formation in coastal locations elsewhere in SE Asia. The average LORCA (long-term apparent carbon accumulation rate) for the 9.5 m core is 56 g C m À2 yr À1 . These data suggest that studies of global carbon sources, sinks and their dynamics need to include information on the past and present sizeable peat deposits of the tropics.

Age, extent and carbon storage of the central Congo Basin peatland complex

“…2), having accumulated, on average, slowly over the Holocene (Table 1). By contrast, in a typical tropical Asian system, high precipitation and the persistence of climatic conditions suitable for peat accumulation since the early Holocene, and often before the Last Glacial Maximum, has allowed peat to accumulate to greater thickness, and form clear domes 29,30 . Lowland Western Amazonia differs again: high precipitation levels during the Holocene have permitted relatively rapid peat accumulation since at least 8,900 cal yrs BP in places, and domes to form, but their location on dynamic river floodplains means that peatlands rarely survive long enough to accumulate to great thickness 31 .…”

Planning hydrological restoration of peatlands in Indonesia to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions

“…rainfall is the only source of water and nutrients. Organic matter accumulation started around 26,000 years ago (Page et al 2004). The climate of Central Kalimantan is determined by a dry season which usually begins in May and lasts until October and a wet season from November until April.…”

Carbon source/sink function of a subtropical, eutrophic lake determined from an overall mass balance and a gas exchange and carbon burial balance

“…Sedimentation rates were calculated using a 210 Pb constant rate of supply (CRS) model and 137 Cs as a time marker. Organic matter reaching the surface sediment is easily ingested, mineralized, or resuspended and deposited elsewhere with most likely no organic matter being buried (Fitzgerald and Gardner, 1993), so the average long-term rate of carbon accumulation were calculated (Page et al, 2004). Mass accumulation rates (MAR) were averaged for the samples and were calculated with the relationship (Muller et al, 2005):…”