Imaging tropical peatlands in Indonesia using ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity imaging (ERI): implications for carbon stock estimates and peat soil characterization

Comas, Xavier; Terry, Neil; Slater, Lee; Warren, Matthew; Kolka, Randy; Kristijono, A.; Sudiana, Nana; Nurjaman, Deden Roni; Darusman, Taryono

doi:10.5194/bgd-12-191-2015

Cited by 18 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Ground‐based geophysical methods, such as ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity imaging, have been shown to be highly effective in detecting peat thickness at high spatial resolution (Comas et al, ; Slater & Reeve, ; Warner et al, ). Unfortunately, most of the geophysical studies we examined do not report the surface elevation, and thus, we could not use them in this study to correlate peat thickness and surface topography.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, even though past efforts have traditionally focused on the characterization of the surface morphology of peatlands, e.g., its topography and extent, the importance of the morphology of the peat bottom has been understudied. Previous studies have demonstrated the ability of certain ground‐based geophysical methods such as ground‐penetrating radar or electrical resistivity imaging to characterize the morphology of the peat/mineral‐soil interface (Slater & Reeve, ; Comas et al, ; Parsekian et al, ), and ultimately to use these measurements to infer carbon stocks in peatlands (Comas et al, ; McClellan et al, ). However, these measurements are typically limited by their scale of measurement since they require direct contact with the ground surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Quantification of Peat Thickness and Stored Carbon at the Landscape Scale in Tropical Peatlands: A Comparison of Airborne Geophysics and an Empirical Topographic Method

Silvestri

Knight

Viezzoli³

et al. 2019

JGR Earth Surface

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Peatlands play a key role in the global carbon cycle, sequestering and releasing large amounts of carbon. Despite their importance, a reliable method for the quantification of peatland thickness and volume is still missing, particularly for peat deposits located in the tropics given their limited accessibility, and for scales of measurement representative of peatland environments (i.e., of hundreds of km2). This limitation also prevents the accurate quantification of the stored carbon as well as future greenhouse gas emissions due to ongoing peat degradation. Here we present the results obtained using the airborne electromagnetic (AEM) method, a geophysical surveying tool, for peat thickness detection at the landscape scale. Based on a large amount of data collected on an Indonesian peatland, our results show that the AEM method provides a reliable and accurate 3‐D model of peatlands, allowing the quantification of their volume and carbon storage. A comparison with the often used empirical topographic approach, which is based on an assumed correlation between peat thickness and surface topography, revealed larger errors across the landscape associated with the empirical approach than the AEM method when predicting the peat thickness. As a result, the AEM method provides higher estimates (22%) of organic carbon pools than the empirical method. We show how in our case study the empirical method tends to underestimate the peat thickness due to its inability to accurately detect the large variability in the elevation of the peat/mineral substrate interface, which is better quantified by the AEM method.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of Peat Thickness and Stored Carbon at the Landscape Scale in Tropical Peatlands: A Comparison of Airborne Geophysics and an Empirical Topographic Method

Silvestri

Knight

Viezzoli³

et al. 2019

JGR Earth Surface

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…; Ponziani, Slob and Ngan‐Tillard ; Comas et al . ; Walter et al . , ) more rapidly and at various spatial scales.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between electrical conductivity and water content of peat and gyttja: implications for electrical surveys of drained peatlands

Walter

Lück

Heller

et al. 2019

Near Surface Geophysics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The application of electrical resistivity tomography to peatlands supports conventional coring by providing data on the current condition of peatlands, including data on stratigraphy, peat properties and thickness of organic deposits. Data on the current condition of drained peatlands are particularly required to improve estimates of carbon storage as well as losses and emissions from agriculturally used peatlands. However, most of the studies focusing on electrical resistivity tomography surveys have been conducted on natural peatlands with higher groundwater levels. Peatlands drained for agriculture have not often been studied using geophysical techniques. Drained sites are characterized by low groundwater levels and high groundwater fluctuations during the year, which lead to varying levels of water saturation. To validate better electrical resistivity tomography surveys of drained peatlands, the aim of this laboratory study is to investigate the influence of varying water saturation levels on electrical conductivity (reciprocal of resistivity) for a variety of peat and gyttja types, as well as for different degrees of peat decomposition. Results show that different levels of water saturation strongly influence bulk electrical conductivity. Distinct differences in this relationship exist between peat and gyttja substrates and between different degrees of peat decomposition. Peat shows an exponential relationship for all degrees of decomposition, whereas gyttja, in particular organic‐rich gyttja, is characterized by a rather unimodal relationship. The slopes for the relationship between electrical conductivity and water content are steeper at high degrees of decomposition than for peat of low degrees of decomposition. These results have direct implications for field electrical resistivity tomography surveys. In drained peatlands that are strongly susceptible to drying, electrical resistivity tomography surveys have a high potential to monitor the actual field water content. In addition, at comparable water saturations, high or low degrees of decomposition can be inferred from electrical conductivity.

show abstract

“…More recently, several studies using GPR have investigated multiple aspects of C cycling in peatlands including the quantification and monitoring of biogenic gases in peatlands (mainly methane and carbon dioxide) in northern [ Comas et al ., , , ; Parsekian et al ., ; Strack and Mierau , ] and subtropical systems [ Comas and Wright , ; Wright and Comas , ]. The method has also been used to refine C stocks in peat soils both in northern peatlands [ Parsekian et al ., ] and tropical systems [ Comas et al ., ]. However, to our knowledge, GPR has never been used in tropical mountain peatlands or in other similar high‐altitude peatland systems throughout the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating belowground carbon stocks in peatlands of the Ecuadorian páramo using ground‐penetrating radar (GPR)

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The páramo ecoregion of Ecuador contains extensive peatlands that are known to contain carbon (C) dense soils capable of long‐term C storage. Although high‐altitude mountain peatlands are typically small when compared to low‐altitude peatlands, they are abundant across the Andean landscape and are likely a key component in regional C cycling. Since efforts to quantify peatland distribution and C stocks across the tropical Andes have been limited due to the difficulty in sampling remote areas with very deep peat, there is a large knowledge gap in our quantification of the current C pools in the Andean mountains, which limits our ability to predict and monitor change from high rates of land use and climate change. In this paper we tested if ground‐penetrating radar (GPR), combined with manual coring and C analysis, could be used for estimating C stocks in peatlands of the Ecuadorian páramo. Our results indicated that GPR was successful in quantifying peat depths and carbon stocks. Detection of volcanic horizons like tephra layers allowed further refinement of variability of C stocks within the peat column, while providing information on the lateral extent of tephras at high (centimeter‐scale) resolution that may prove very useful for the correlation of time‐stratigraphic markers between sediments in alpine peatlands. In conclusion, this paper provides a methodological basis for quantifying C stocks in high‐altitude peatlands and to infer changes in the physical properties of soils that could be used as proxies for C content or paleoclimate reconstructions.

show abstract

Imaging tropical peatlands in Indonesia using ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity imaging (ERI): implications for carbon stock estimates and peat soil characterization

Cited by 18 publications

References 48 publications

Quantification of Peat Thickness and Stored Carbon at the Landscape Scale in Tropical Peatlands: A Comparison of Airborne Geophysics and an Empirical Topographic Method

Quantification of Peat Thickness and Stored Carbon at the Landscape Scale in Tropical Peatlands: A Comparison of Airborne Geophysics and an Empirical Topographic Method

Relationship between electrical conductivity and water content of peat and gyttja: implications for electrical surveys of drained peatlands

Estimating belowground carbon stocks in peatlands of the Ecuadorian páramo using ground‐penetrating radar (GPR)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About