Minimizing carbon loss through integrated water resource management on peatland utilization in Pulau Burung, Riau, Indonesia

Sustainable utilization of peatland is required for balancing production and conservation efforts. On peatland, one of the main components to examine sustainability is understanding the carbon balance. This research was conducted in Pulau Burung, Riau, Indonesia, which has a long history of peatland utilization for agriculture. The sets of utilized data included historical data of water management on peatland represented by water table and subsidence rate, next to carbon density of peat soil. The results showed the function of integrated water resource management made the yearly average water table depth is 48 and 49 cm in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The range water table is between 31cm to 72 cm due to season variability and crop requirement. Consequently, the rate of annual subsidence is averaging at 1.7 cm with cumulative subsidence in 32 yr is 54.1 cm. Since the water never drained since the establishment, the subsidence rate of the first five years is averaging only at 3.3 cm yr–1. Low subsidence rates minimize annual carbon loss during the peatland utilization around (30 to 200) Mg CO2 ha–1 yr–1. In 32 yr, the water management in peatland utilization in Pulau Burung has prevented 2 000 Mg CO2 ha–1 to 4 925 Mg CO2 ha–1 loss compared to other cultivated areas in peatland. Further, this paper discusses the practice that resulted in low emission of coconut agriculture in Pulau Burung as one of sustainability dimensions, which support the other sustainability aspects, that is the thriving local livelihood.