Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Managed Peat Soils: Is the IPCC Reporting Guidance Realistic?. Couwenberg, J. 8:2+. ![Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Managed Peat Soils: Is the IPCC Reporting Guidance Realistic? [link]](https://bibbase.org/img/filetypes/link.svg "link")
Paper abstract bibtex Drainage of peatlands leads to the decomposition of peat, resulting in substantial losses of carbon and nitrogen to the atmosphere. The conservation and restoration of peatlands can provide a major contribution to the mitigation of climate change. Improvements to guidance and capacity for reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands will be valuable in the context of the current negotiations towards a post-2012 climate agreement. This article evaluates IPCC approaches to greenhouse gas emissions from managed organic (peat) soils and presents a summary table comparing IPCC default values with best estimates based on recent literature. Inconsistencies are pointed out with regard to the IPCC definitions of organic soils and climate zones. The 2006 IPCC Guidelines use a definition of organic soil that is not totally consistent with FAO definitions, use climate zones that are not fully compatible, present default CO2 values that are substantially (often an order of magnitude) too low, and present a default N2O value for tropical cropland that is also an order of magnitude too low. An update of IPCC default values is desirable. The IPCC Emission Factor Database offers a platform for establishing more accurate emission factors, but so far contains little information about emissions from peat soils. [Excerpt: Climate zones] Climatic setting is a major determinant of land use options and the resulting GHG fluxes from peat soils. IPCC (2006, Vol. 4, Ch. 3) delineates major climate regions on the basis of averaged statistics such as mean annual temperature and/or precipitation. These climate regions are subdivided into ecological zones (FAO 2001; see IPCC 2006, Vol. 4, Ch. 4, Fig. 4.1,Tab. 4.1), but there are some stark discrepancies between the ecological zones and the supposedly higher-order climate regions. In the present review the FAO (2001) ecological zones are used to distinguish three climate types, namely boreal, temperate and tropical. [\n] Histosols without prolonged water saturation are often formed in cold boreal and subarctic environments which are unattractive for agricultural use. In the warm boreal and temperate zones, peatlands have been extensively drained in order to permit the cultivation of conventional arable crops as well as forestry and grazing and, moreover, to allow the extraction of peat for fuel or for use in horticultural growing media. In the tropics, traditional subsistence farming and pisciculture had only low impacts on peatland, but human pressure on tropical wetlands (including peatlands) has generally increased in recent decades. In south-east Asia, increasingly extensive areas of peatland have been converted to oil palm and pulp wood plantations, and widespread peat fires have become common in association with the large-scale deforestation and reclamation of peat swamp forest. [\n] [...] [Conclusions] The IPCC Guidelines 2006: [::] use a definition of organic soil that is not fully compatible with FAO definitions; [::] use climate zones that are not fully consistent; [::] present default CO2 values that are substantially (often an order of magnitude) too low; and [::] present a default N2O value for tropical cropland that is also an order of magnitude too low. [\n] These conclusions underline the inadequacy of IPCC (2006) default values alone for estimating GHG emissions from peatlands. Especially where order of magnitude discrepancies have been identified, it would seem imperative that the current IPCC Guidelines are improved; and that, meanwhile, users should seek more accurate emission factors from elsewhere. The IPCC offers an additional resource in the form of the Emission Factor Database, which is a dynamically updated web-based tool intended to serve as both a library of well documented and evaluated GHG emission factors and a communication platform for those generating and using them. As yet, however, it contains few data for emissions from peat soils. The IPCC Emission Factor Database is available at: http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/EFDB/main.php
@article{couwenbergGreenhouseGasEmissions2011,
title = {Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Managed Peat Soils: Is the {{IPCC}} Reporting Guidance Realistic?},
author = {Couwenberg, John},
date = {2011},
journaltitle = {Mires and Peat},
volume = {8},
pages = {2+},
issn = {1819-754X},
url = {http://mfkp.org/INRMM/article/13916340},
abstract = {Drainage of peatlands leads to the decomposition of peat, resulting in substantial losses of carbon and nitrogen to the atmosphere. The conservation and restoration of peatlands can provide a major contribution to the mitigation of climate change. Improvements to guidance and capacity for reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands will be valuable in the context of the current negotiations towards a post-2012 climate agreement. This article evaluates IPCC approaches to greenhouse gas emissions from managed organic (peat) soils and presents a summary table comparing IPCC default values with best estimates based on recent literature. Inconsistencies are pointed out with regard to the IPCC definitions of organic soils and climate zones. The 2006 IPCC Guidelines use a definition of organic soil that is not totally consistent with FAO definitions, use climate zones that are not fully compatible, present default CO2 values that are substantially (often an order of magnitude) too low, and present a default N2O value for tropical cropland that is also an order of magnitude too low. An update of IPCC default values is desirable. The IPCC Emission Factor Database offers a platform for establishing more accurate emission factors, but so far contains little information about emissions from peat soils.
[Excerpt: Climate zones] Climatic setting is a major determinant of land use options and the resulting GHG fluxes from peat soils. IPCC (2006, Vol. 4, Ch. 3) delineates major climate regions on the basis of averaged statistics such as mean annual temperature and/or precipitation. These climate regions are subdivided into ecological zones (FAO 2001; see IPCC 2006, Vol. 4, Ch. 4, Fig. 4.1,Tab. 4.1), but there are some stark discrepancies between the ecological zones and the supposedly higher-order climate regions. In the present review the FAO (2001) ecological zones are used to distinguish three climate types, namely boreal, temperate and tropical.
[\textbackslash n] Histosols without prolonged water saturation are often formed in cold boreal and subarctic environments which are unattractive for agricultural use. In the warm boreal and temperate zones, peatlands have been extensively drained in order to permit the cultivation of conventional arable crops as well as forestry and grazing and, moreover, to allow the extraction of peat for fuel or for use in horticultural growing media. In the tropics, traditional subsistence farming and pisciculture had only low impacts on peatland, but human pressure on tropical wetlands (including peatlands) has generally increased in recent decades. In south-east Asia, increasingly extensive areas of peatland have been converted to oil palm and pulp wood plantations, and widespread peat fires have become common in association with the large-scale deforestation and reclamation of peat swamp forest.
[\textbackslash n] [...] [Conclusions] The IPCC Guidelines 2006: [::] use a definition of organic soil that is not fully compatible with FAO definitions; [::] use climate zones that are not fully consistent; [::] present default CO2 values that are substantially (often an order of magnitude) too low; and [::] present a default N2O value for tropical cropland that is also an order of magnitude too low.
[\textbackslash n] These conclusions underline the inadequacy of IPCC (2006) default values alone for estimating GHG emissions from peatlands. Especially where order of magnitude discrepancies have been identified, it would seem imperative that the current IPCC Guidelines are improved; and that, meanwhile, users should seek more accurate emission factors from elsewhere. The IPCC offers an additional resource in the form of the Emission Factor Database, which is a dynamically updated web-based tool intended to serve as both a library of well documented and evaluated GHG emission factors and a communication platform for those generating and using them. As yet, however, it contains few data for emissions from peat soils. The IPCC Emission Factor Database is available at: http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/EFDB/main.php},
keywords = {*imported-from-citeulike-INRMM,~INRMM-MiD:c-13916340,ecological-zones,forest-resources,ghg,nitrogen,organic-carbon,peatlands,soil-carbon,soil-resources,wetlands}
}
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Improvements to guidance and capacity for reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands will be valuable in the context of the current negotiations towards a post-2012 climate agreement. This article evaluates IPCC approaches to greenhouse gas emissions from managed organic (peat) soils and presents a summary table comparing IPCC default values with best estimates based on recent literature. Inconsistencies are pointed out with regard to the IPCC definitions of organic soils and climate zones. The 2006 IPCC Guidelines use a definition of organic soil that is not totally consistent with FAO definitions, use climate zones that are not fully compatible, present default CO2 values that are substantially (often an order of magnitude) too low, and present a default N2O value for tropical cropland that is also an order of magnitude too low. An update of IPCC default values is desirable. The IPCC Emission Factor Database offers a platform for establishing more accurate emission factors, but so far contains little information about emissions from peat soils. [Excerpt: Climate zones] Climatic setting is a major determinant of land use options and the resulting GHG fluxes from peat soils. IPCC (2006, Vol. 4, Ch. 3) delineates major climate regions on the basis of averaged statistics such as mean annual temperature and/or precipitation. These climate regions are subdivided into ecological zones (FAO 2001; see IPCC 2006, Vol. 4, Ch. 4, Fig. 4.1,Tab. 4.1), but there are some stark discrepancies between the ecological zones and the supposedly higher-order climate regions. In the present review the FAO (2001) ecological zones are used to distinguish three climate types, namely boreal, temperate and tropical. [\\n] Histosols without prolonged water saturation are often formed in cold boreal and subarctic environments which are unattractive for agricultural use. In the warm boreal and temperate zones, peatlands have been extensively drained in order to permit the cultivation of conventional arable crops as well as forestry and grazing and, moreover, to allow the extraction of peat for fuel or for use in horticultural growing media. In the tropics, traditional subsistence farming and pisciculture had only low impacts on peatland, but human pressure on tropical wetlands (including peatlands) has generally increased in recent decades. In south-east Asia, increasingly extensive areas of peatland have been converted to oil palm and pulp wood plantations, and widespread peat fires have become common in association with the large-scale deforestation and reclamation of peat swamp forest. [\\n] [...] [Conclusions] The IPCC Guidelines 2006: [::] use a definition of organic soil that is not fully compatible with FAO definitions; [::] use climate zones that are not fully consistent; [::] present default CO2 values that are substantially (often an order of magnitude) too low; and [::] present a default N2O value for tropical cropland that is also an order of magnitude too low. [\\n] These conclusions underline the inadequacy of IPCC (2006) default values alone for estimating GHG emissions from peatlands. Especially where order of magnitude discrepancies have been identified, it would seem imperative that the current IPCC Guidelines are improved; and that, meanwhile, users should seek more accurate emission factors from elsewhere. The IPCC offers an additional resource in the form of the Emission Factor Database, which is a dynamically updated web-based tool intended to serve as both a library of well documented and evaluated GHG emission factors and a communication platform for those generating and using them. As yet, however, it contains few data for emissions from peat soils. 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Improvements to guidance and capacity for reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands will be valuable in the context of the current negotiations towards a post-2012 climate agreement. This article evaluates IPCC approaches to greenhouse gas emissions from managed organic (peat) soils and presents a summary table comparing IPCC default values with best estimates based on recent literature. Inconsistencies are pointed out with regard to the IPCC definitions of organic soils and climate zones. The 2006 IPCC Guidelines use a definition of organic soil that is not totally consistent with FAO definitions, use climate zones that are not fully compatible, present default CO2 values that are substantially (often an order of magnitude) too low, and present a default N2O value for tropical cropland that is also an order of magnitude too low. An update of IPCC default values is desirable. The IPCC Emission Factor Database offers a platform for establishing more accurate emission factors, but so far contains little information about emissions from peat soils.\n\n[Excerpt: Climate zones] Climatic setting is a major determinant of land use options and the resulting GHG fluxes from peat soils. IPCC (2006, Vol. 4, Ch. 3) delineates major climate regions on the basis of averaged statistics such as mean annual temperature and/or precipitation. These climate regions are subdivided into ecological zones (FAO 2001; see IPCC 2006, Vol. 4, Ch. 4, Fig. 4.1,Tab. 4.1), but there are some stark discrepancies between the ecological zones and the supposedly higher-order climate regions. In the present review the FAO (2001) ecological zones are used to distinguish three climate types, namely boreal, temperate and tropical.\n\n[\\textbackslash n] Histosols without prolonged water saturation are often formed in cold boreal and subarctic environments which are unattractive for agricultural use. In the warm boreal and temperate zones, peatlands have been extensively drained in order to permit the cultivation of conventional arable crops as well as forestry and grazing and, moreover, to allow the extraction of peat for fuel or for use in horticultural growing media. In the tropics, traditional subsistence farming and pisciculture had only low impacts on peatland, but human pressure on tropical wetlands (including peatlands) has generally increased in recent decades. In south-east Asia, increasingly extensive areas of peatland have been converted to oil palm and pulp wood plantations, and widespread peat fires have become common in association with the large-scale deforestation and reclamation of peat swamp forest.\n\n[\\textbackslash n] [...] [Conclusions] The IPCC Guidelines 2006: [::] use a definition of organic soil that is not fully compatible with FAO definitions; [::] use climate zones that are not fully consistent; [::] present default CO2 values that are substantially (often an order of magnitude) too low; and [::] present a default N2O value for tropical cropland that is also an order of magnitude too low. \n\n[\\textbackslash n] These conclusions underline the inadequacy of IPCC (2006) default values alone for estimating GHG emissions from peatlands. 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