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Effect of compaction on soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes from tropical peatland in Sarawak, Malaysia

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Abstract

Tropical peatland stores a large amount of carbon (C) and is an important C sink. In Malaysia, about 25% of the peatland area has been converted to oil palm plantation where drainage, compaction and groundwater table control are prerequisite. To date, relationship between land compaction and C emission from tropical peatland is scarcely studied. To understand the effect of compaction on soil carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) flux from tropical peatland, a laboratory soil column incubation was conducted. Peat soil collected from a Mixed Peat Swamp forest were packed in polyvinyl chloride pipes to three different soil bulk densities (BD); 0.14 g cm–3, 0.18 g cm–3 and 0.22 g cm–3. Soil CO2 and CH4 flux from the soil columns were measured on weekly basis for twelve weeks. Total soil porosity and moisture retention of each soil BD were also determined using another set of peat sample packed into 100 cm3 soil core ring. Soil porosity decreased while soil moisture retention increased proportionally with increasing soil BD. Soil CH4 flux were reduced approximately by 22% with compaction. On contrary, soil CO2 fluxes were greater (P ≤ 0.05) at compacted soil when infiltration and percolation of rainwater become slower with time, until soil moisture becomes limiting factor. This study suggested that compaction affects water movement and gaseous transport in the peat profile, thus influences C emission from peat soil.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Sarawak State Government and Putra Grant for graduate student Universiti Putra Malaysia (No. GP: IPS/2018/9611500). The authors wish to thank staff members of Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute especially Mr. Mohd. Zulhilmy and Dr. Faustina Sangok for technical and scientific assistance during laboratory incubation setup and discussion session. The authors also wish to convey their appreciation to Mr. Donny Sudid (Soil Branch, DOA) for his expertise and valuable assistance during the kick-off of the experiment

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Nur Azima Busman, Che Fauziah Ishak & Muhammad Firdaus Sulaiman

  2. Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute, Lot 6035, Kota Samarahan Expressway, 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia

    Nur Azima Busman & Lulie Melling

  3. School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Towada, Aomori, 034-8628, Japan

    Nagamitsu Maie

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  1. Nur Azima Busman
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  2. Nagamitsu Maie
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  5. Lulie Melling
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Correspondence to Nur Azima Busman.

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Busman, N.A., Maie, N., Ishak, C.F. et al. Effect of compaction on soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes from tropical peatland in Sarawak, Malaysia. Environ Dev Sustain 23, 11646–11659 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01132-y

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