Inappropriate drainage and agricultural development on tropical peatland may lead to an increase in methane (CH4) emission, thus expediting the rate of global warming and climate change. It was hypothesized that water table fluctuation affects CH4 emission in pineapple cultivation on tropical peat soils. The objectives of this study were to: (i) quantify CH4 emission from a tropical peat soil cultivated with pineapple and (ii) determine the effects of water table depth on CH4 emission from a peat soil under simulated water table fluctuation. Soil CH4 emissions from an open field pineapple cultivation system and field lysimeters were determined using the closed chamber method. High-density polyethylene field lysimeters were set up to simulate the natural condition of cultivated drained peat soils under different water table fluctuations. The soil CH4 flux was measured at five time intervals to obtain a 24 h CH4 emission in the dry and wet seasons during low- and high-water tables. Soil CH4 emissions from open field pineapple cultivation were significantly lower compared with field lysimeters under simulated water table fluctuation. Soil CH4 emissions throughout the dry and wet seasons irrespective of water table fluctuation were not affected by soil temperature but emissions were influenced by the balance between methanogenic and methanotrophic microorganisms controlling CH4 production and consumption, CH4 transportation through molecular diffusion via peat pore spaces, and non-microbial CH4 production in peat soils. Findings from the study suggest that water table fluctuation at the soil–water interface relatively controls the soil CH4 emission from lysimeters under simulated low- and high-water table fluctuation. The findings of this study provide an understanding of the effects of water table fluctuation on CH4 emission in a tropical peatland cultivated with pineapple.
Tropical peat land is an important buffer for climate change as it absorbs atmospheric carbon and stores large carbon reserve. Inappropriate drainage and agricultural development on peat land results in GHG emissions such as CO2 and CH4which could shift the peat land ecosystem from carbon sink to carbon source. The objectives of this study were to: (i) quantify CO2 loss in a tropical soil under simulated water table fluctuation and (ii) determine the relationship between depth of water table and CO2 loss of a tropical soil cultivated with pineapples. Soil CO2 emission was captured using closed chamber method in field lysimeter and quantified using gas chromatography. It was carried out in July (dry month) and December 2015 (wet month). The peat soil water table fluctuation did not significantly affect emission of CO2 in pineapple cultivation. For lower water table, 147.5 t CO2 ha-1 yr-1 was emitted in the dry month whereas for higher water table, 19.6 t CO2 ha-1 yr-1. In the wet month, CO2emission of the lower water table was 23.7 t CO2 ha-1 yr-1whereasfor high water tables the emission was 25.6 t CO2 ha-1 yr-1. Soil CO2 emission for the lower water table was higher than that of the high water table whereas the opposite was true for the higher water table because of increase in soil temperature in the dry month. Regardless of season and depth of peat soil water table, this study will provide significant understanding of the effect of water table management on carbon loss in peat soils under pineapple cultivation.
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