Plot showing relationship between subsidence rates and drainage density
Relationship between subsidence rates and drainage density. Distribution of subsidence rates are shown for each drainage density category. Dashed vertical lines show medians for each distribution. Median ± standard deviation is shown for each distribution next to median line. Positive subsidence denotes downward ground surface displacement and carbon dioxide release to the atmosphere. Subsidence was measured by Hoyt et al. [2020] using ALOS‐1 PALSAR interferometric data from 2007 to 2011. Credit: Dadap et al. [2021], Figure 6
Source: AGU Advances

Dadap et al. [2021] use high-resolution satellite imagery to find that drainage canals modify 65 percent of peatlands in Southeast Asia, independently of land-use type. They link the acceleration of soil decomposition and carbon emissions to drainage density, which explains a three-fold increase in ground-surface subsidence rates in intensively drained areas. This study suggests that land-use-based parameterizations significantly underestimate carbon emissions from tropical peatlands and associated subsidence rates. They propose to remedy this handicap by accounting for drainage density.

Citation: Dadap, N. C., Hoyt, A. M., Cobb, A. R., Oner, D., Kozinski, M., Fua, P. V., et al. [2021]. Drainage canals in Southeast Asian peatlands increase carbon emissions. AGU Advances, 2, e2020AV000321. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020AV000321

—Ana Barros, Editor, AGU Advances

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