The Effects of Various Water Table Depths on CO2 Emission at Oil Palm Plantation on West Aceh Peat

Abstract

Changes in the depth of water table influenced carbon cycling in peatlands, and affected the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide. The effects of depth of water tables in oil palm plantations on the emission of CO2 were studied. CO2 emissions of peatland were measured in Meulaboh, West Aceh using cylindrical chambers and air samples from the chambers were analyzed by gas chromatography. Five-point transects perpendicular to drainage canals provided variation in the depth of water tables for the samples. Data from oil palm fields were compared to data from an adjacent swamp forest. The data confirmed that the increasing depth of water table was accompanied by the increasing in microbial activity that was measured by CO2 emission. The CO2 emissions from chambers with additional root zones were higher than from bulk soil chambers between one to four times.

Keywords

• CO2 emissions
• depth of water table
• oil palm
• peat land