More field-based carbon monitoring of tropical peatland restoration is urgently needed: findings from a systematic literature review

The tropical peatland degradation crisis in Southeast Asia has triggered a surge in peatland restoration activity to reduce carbon emissions caused by biological oxidation of dry peat and recurrent peat fires. Monitoring the effects of restoration activities on carbon cycling is essential. We conducted a systematic literature review to determine where, how and by whom field-based carbon monitoring of tropical peatland restoration is being conducted. Our search focused on rewetting, revegetation of native plant communities, and interventions to reduce fire. Despite tropical peatland restoration activities occurring since the early 2000s, published studies monitoring their carbon effects are extremely limited, both temporally and geographically; only nine studies met the criteria of our systematic search. Concentrated in Kalimantan and Sumatra (Indonesia) and Selangor (Malaysia), all except one of these studies were published in the last six years. Southeast Asian academic institutions, nonprofit organisations, government and the private sector are interconnected in generating this research through authorship and the provision and/or management of land. Monitoring activities are heavily focused on flux chamber measurements of peat surface carbon fluxes. Monitoring of revegetation and fire reduction is very limited, and establishment of pre-restoration baseline conditions is lacking. In the detected studies, reported monitoring periods extended to a maximum of two years. Standardised reporting of the spatial extent of restoration activities would assist comparisons of restoration outcomes. There is an urgent need for longer term, continuous studies investigating the carbon outcomes of tropical peatland restoration that transcend existing funding and political time constraints.