Tropical peatland carbon losses from oil palm plantations may be underestimated
Thursday, July 9, 2015 - 16:00
in Earth & Climate
Peatlands -- waterlogged, organic soils -- have developed over thousands of years as carbon storage systems. In Southeast Asia, peat swamp forests cover about 250,000 square kilometers, a land area about the size of Michigan. Draining tropical peatlands for oil palm plantations may result in nearly twice as much carbon loss as official estimates, according to a new study.