Conversion of tropical peatlands to agriculture leads to a release of carbon from previously stable, long-term storage, resulting in land subsidence that can be a surrogate measure of CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere. We present an analysis of recent large-scale subsidence monitoring studies in Acacia and oil palm plantations on peatland in SE Asia, and compare the findings with previous studies. Subsidence in the first 5 yr after drainage was found to be 142 cm, of which 75 cm occurred in the first year. After 5 yr, the subsidence rate in both plantation types, at average water table depths of 0.7 m, remained constant at around 5 cm yr⁻¹. The results confirm that primary consolidation contributed substantially to total subsidence only in the first year after drainage, that secondary consolidation was negligible, and that the amount of compaction was also much reduced within 5 yr. Over 5 yr after drainage, 75 % of cumulative subsidence was caused by peat oxidation, and after 18 yr this was 92 %. The average rate of carbon loss over the first 5 yr was 178 t CO_2eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, which reduced to 73 t CO_2eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ over subsequent years, potentially resulting in an average loss of 100 t CO_2eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ over 25 yr. Part of the observed range in subsidence and carbon loss values is explained by differences in water table depth, but vegetation cover and other factors such as addition of fertilizers also influence peat oxidation. A relationship with groundwater table depth shows that subsidence and carbon loss are still considerable even at the highest water levels theoretically possible in plantations. This implies that improved plantation water management will reduce these impacts by 20 % at most, relative to current conditions, and that high rates of carbon loss and land subsidence are inevitable consequences of conversion of forested tropical peatlands to other land uses.

Tropical peatlands store around one-sixth of the global peatland carbon pool (105 gigatonnes), equivalent to 30% of the carbon held in rainforest vegetation. Deforestation, drainage, fire and conversion to agricultural land threaten these ecosystems and their role in carbon sequestration. In this Review, we discuss the biogeochemistry of tropical peatlands and the impacts of ongoing anthropogenic modifications. Extensive peatlands are found in Southeast Asia, the Congo Basin and Amazonia, but their total global area remains unknown owing to inadequate data. Anthropogenic transformations result in high carbon loss and reduced carbon storage, increased greenhouse gas emissions, loss of hydrological integrity and peat subsidence accompanied by an enhanced risk of flooding. Moreover, the resulting nutrient storage and cycling changes necessitate fertilizer inputs to sustain crop production, further disturbing the ecosystem and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Under a warming climate, these impacts are likely to intensify, with both disturbed and intact peat swamps at risk of losing 20% of current carbon stocks by 2100. Improved measurement and observation of carbon pools and fluxes, along with process-based biogeochemical knowledge, is needed to support management strategies, protect tropical peatland carbon stocks and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

Degradation of tropical peats is a global concern due to large Carbon emission and loss of biodiversity. The degradation of tropical peats usually starts when the government drains and clears peat forests into open peats used for food crops, oil palm and industrial timber plantations. Major properties of tropical peat forests are high in Water Contents (WC), Loss on Ignition (LOI) and Total Organic Carbon (TOC), and low in peat pH, Dry Bulk Density (DBD), and Total Nitrogen (TN). In this study, we investigated impacts of drainage and land use change on these properties. We collected peat samples from peat forests, logged over peat forest, industrial timber plantation, community agriculture, and oil palms. We used independent t-tests and oneway ANOVA to analyze mean differences of the research variables. We found that peat pH, DBD, and TN tend to increase. A significant decrease of C/N ratio in oil palm and agriculture sites importantly denotes a high rate of peat decompositions. Water contents, LOI, and TOC are relatively constants. We suggest that changes in pH, DBD, TN and atomic C/N ratio are important indicators for assessing tropical peat degradation. We infer that land use change from tropical peat forests into cleared and drained peats used for intensive timber harvesting, oil palms and industrial timber plantations in Indonesia has greatly degraded major ecological function of tropical peats as Carbon storage.