Tuesday 14th December, E0.05 from 1.00-2.00 pm.
Lunch, and an opportunity to chat with the speaker, will be in room E402 from 12:30. All are invited!
Dr Susan Page, University of Leicester
‘Tropical Peatlands : A Burning Issue’
Peatlands are important terrestrial carbon stores and vital components of global carbon soil-atmosphere exchange processes. In this regard, tropical peatlands, most of which occur in Southeast Asia, are particularly important. These are carbon-dense ecosystems which contain around 89 Gt carbon , i.e. as much as 19 % of the global peatland carbon store. At the current time, however, tropical peatlands are vulnerable to destabilisation through both human and climate induced changes. Anthropogenic land use changes include poor forest and land management practices, large-scale conversion to plantation agriculture and settlement; these reduce the peatland carbon store and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, whilst compromising other valuable ecosystem services, e.g. biodiversity support and hydrological regulation. Climate induced changes include an increased susceptibility to drought-impacts, particularly during ENSO-events, with indications that regional climates in some areas with extensive peatlands are experiencing reduced rainfall.
This talk will review the current understanding of carbon-climate human interactions on tropical peatlands. It will focus on the main causes of land use and land cover change (deforestation, drainage, fire) and will consider the risks that these pose to the peatland carbon pool and the scale of the resultant carbon emissions. It will also address the main drivers of peatland degradation, particularly conversion to oil palm and pulpwood plantations. The talk will conclude by considering likely responses of tropical peatlands and peat swamp forests to a changing climate and the scope for mitigative action, e.g. through ecosystem rehabilitation and upcoming initiatives to support avoided deforestation and reduced emissions.
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