IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i9p5473-d807618.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessments of Underground Carbon Stocks in Merang-Kepahyang Peatlands, South Sumatra, Indonesia

Author

Listed:
  • Yuli Suharnoto

    (Department Civil and Environmental Engineering, IPB University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, Gedung Fakultas Teknologi Pertanian, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
    Center for Transdisciplinary and Sustainability Studies, IPB University, Kampus IPB Baranangsiang, Jl. Raya Pajajaran No. 27, Kecamatan Bogor Tengah, Bogor 16127, Indonesia)

  • Budi Indra Setiawan

    (Department Civil and Environmental Engineering, IPB University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, Gedung Fakultas Teknologi Pertanian, Bogor 16680, Indonesia)

  • Andik Pribadi

    (Department Civil and Environmental Engineering, IPB University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, Gedung Fakultas Teknologi Pertanian, Bogor 16680, Indonesia)

  • Lili Muslihat

    (Indonesian Center for Agricultural Land Resources Research and Development (ICALRD), Ministry of Agriculture, Jl. Tentara Pelajar No. 12 Cimanggu, Bogor 16111, Indonesia)

  • Damayanti Buchori

    (Center for Transdisciplinary and Sustainability Studies, IPB University, Kampus IPB Baranangsiang, Jl. Raya Pajajaran No. 27, Kecamatan Bogor Tengah, Bogor 16127, Indonesia)

Abstract

Indonesia has 673 peat hydrological units (PHUs) covering more than 26.5 million hectares, of which approximately 70% are located on the Kalimantan and Sumatra Islands. Merang-Kepahyang PHUs in South Sumatra cover a total area of approximately 1.094 km 2 , comprising three watersheds, namely Merang (360.3 km 2 ), Buring (458.5 km 2 ), and Kepahyang (275.3 km 2 ). This area is globally known as a carbon (C)-rich ecosystem. However, there is still a lack of understanding of the C cycle in this area, primarily associated with land use and cover changes. This study spatially estimates belowground carbon stocks and relates them to land elevation, land use, and soil unit. To reduce inaccurate estimates, the volume of the peat is discretized by a 200 m × 200 m grid as a grid based analysis. This assessment aimed to obtain the baseline data with particular attention to provide information on the peat carbon and its spatial distribution in each watershed. We conducted field surveys and image analysis based on SPOT 6 (1.5 m/pixel with raster format 200 m/pixel) to produce interpolated data and maps of land use, soil unit, land elevation, peat thickness, and peat carbon. We found that the land elevation ranged from 1.5 to 13.0 m-MSL in Merang, from 1.1 to 13.5 m-MSL in Buring, and from 0.2 to 11.6 m-MSL in Kepahyang. Peat thickness in ranged from 1.3 m to 12.9 m in Merang, from 0.8 m to 13.2 m in Buring, and from 0.4 m to 11.4 m in Kepahyang. Peat carbon was 220 M t in Merang, 225.8 M t in Buring, and 116.8 M t in Kepahyang. On average, peat carbon density was 6.11 kt ha −1 in Merang, 4.92 kt ha −1 in Buring, and 4.24 kt ha −1 in Kepahyang. The cumulative area covering the peat with a thickness greater than 3 m was 334.9 km 2 (93%) in in Merang, 379.4 km 2 (83%) in Buring, and 193.9 km 2 (70%) in Kepahyang. There is a relationship between carbon content and elevation, where most of the high carbon content is in the higher elevation. Furthermore, the trees in the secondary forest are primarily found at higher elevations, while the shrubs are located at lower elevations. This is due to water table conditions below the land surface at higher elevations, and close to land surface at lower elevations. In conclusion, these watersheds are carbon-rich areas which are worthy of conservation while a small portion (<30%) may be used for cultivation.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuli Suharnoto & Budi Indra Setiawan & Andik Pribadi & Lili Muslihat & Damayanti Buchori, 2022. "Assessments of Underground Carbon Stocks in Merang-Kepahyang Peatlands, South Sumatra, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:5473-:d:807618
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/5473/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/5473/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Meli F. Saragi-Sasmito & Daniel Murdiyarso & Tania June & Sigit D. Sasmito, 2019. "Carbon stocks, emissions, and aboveground productivity in restored secondary tropical peat swamp forests," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 521-533, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sri Murniani Angelina Letsoin & David Herak & Fajar Rahmawan & Ratna Chrismiari Purwestri, 2020. "Land Cover Changes from 1990 to 2019 in Papua, Indonesia: Results of the Remote Sensing Imagery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-18, August.
    2. I Wayan Susi Dharmawan & Nur M. Heriyanto & Raden Garsetiasih & Rozza Tri Kwatrina & Reny Sawitri & Denny & Titiek Setyawati & Pratiwi & Budi Hadi Narendra & Chairil Anwar Siregar & Ilham Kurnia Abywi, 2024. "The Dynamics of Vegetation Structure, Composition and Carbon Stock in Peatland Ecosystem of Old Secondary Forest in Riau and South Sumatra Provinces," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-22, May.
    3. Sigit D. Sasmito & Pierre Taillardat & Wahyu C. Adinugroho & Haruni Krisnawati & Nisa Novita & Lola Fatoyinbo & Daniel A. Friess & Susan E. Page & Catherine E. Lovelock & Daniel Murdiyarso & David Tay, 2025. "Half of land use carbon emissions in Southeast Asia can be mitigated through peat swamp forest and mangrove conservation and restoration," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Michelle Ann Miller & Prayoto Tonoto & David Taylor, 2022. "Sustainable development of carbon sinks? Lessons from three types of peatland partnerships in Indonesia," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 241-255, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:5473-:d:807618. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.