Water Table Fluctuation and Methane Emission in Pineapples (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) Cultivated on a Tropical Peatland

Abstract

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.

CH4 and N2O emissions from smallholder agricultural systems on tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia

“…Although some incubation experiments have found that under anaerobic conditions, soil temperature has a significant and strong positive exponential effect on soil peat CH 4 emissions (Sjögersten et al, 2018 ), no clear effect of soil temperature on CH 4 emissions has been reported under field experiments on tropical peatlands, probably due to the small variation of temperature in the tropics (Deshmukh et al, 2020 ; Jauhiainen et al, 2014 ; Luta et al, 2021 ). Similarly, we did not find a predictive relationship between in situ temperature and CH 4 emissions.…”

Diversity in characteristics of tropical peatlands varying in land uses leads to differences in methane and carbon dioxide emissions

“…A study conducted in Indonesian tropical peatlands showed that changes in land use from the swamp and drained forest to cassava or coconut cultivation areas result in a lower water table and lead to decreasing CH4 emission, while the change to lowland paddy results in increasing the water table which eventually leads to increasing CH4 emission (Inubushi et al 2005). Luta et al (2021) found that CH4 emission from lysimeters under simulated low-and highwater table fluctuation of tropical peatland is controlled by water-table. Wong et al (2020) reported a positive exponential relationship between CH4 emission and groundwater level, and rewetting tropical peatlands results in increasing CH4 emissions (Kumar et al 2020).…”