Development and carbon sequestration of tropical peat domes in south-east Asia: links to post-glacial sea-level changes and Holocene climate variability

Tropical peatlands of SE-Asia represent a significant terrestrial carbon reservoir of an estimated 65 Gt C. In this paper we present a comprehensive data synthesis of radiocarbon dated peat profiles and 31 basal dates of ombrogenous peat domes from the lowlands of Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo and integrate our peatland data with records of past sea-level and climate change in the region. Based on their developmental features three peat dome regions were distinguished: inland Central Kalimantan (Borneo), Kutai basin (Borneo) and coastal areas across the entire region. With the onset of the Holocene the first peat domes developed in Central Kalimantan as a response to rapid post-glacial sea-level rise over the Sunda Shelf and intensification of the Asian monsoon. Peat accumulation rates in Central Kalimantan strongly declined after 8500 cal BP in close relation to the lowering rate of the sea-level rise and possibly influenced by the regional impact of the 8.2 ka event. Peat growth in Central Kalimantan apparently ceased during the Late Holocene in association with amplified El Niño activity as exemplified by several truncated peat profiles. Peat domes from the Kutai basin are all younger than ∼8300 cal BP. Peat formation and rates of peat accumulation were driven by accretion rates of the Mahakam River and seemingly independent of climate. Most coastal peat domes, the largest expanse of SE-Asian peatlands, initiated between 7000 and 4000 cal BP as a consequence of a Holocene maximum in regional rainfall and the stabilisation and subsequent regression of the sea-level. These boundary conditions induced the highest rates of peat accumulation of coastal peat domes. The Late Holocene sea-level regression led to extensive new land availability that allowed for continued coastal peat dome formation until the present. The time weighted mean Holocene peat accumulation rate is 0.54 mm yr−1 for Central Kalimantan, 1.89 mm yr−1 for Kutai and 1.77 mm yr−1 for coastal domes of Sumatra and Borneo. The mean Holocene carbon sequestration rates amount to 31.3 g C m−2 yr−1 for Central Kalimantan and 77.0 g C m−2 yr−1 for coastal sites, which makes coastal peat domes of south-east Asia the spatially most efficient terrestrial ecosystem in terms of long term carbon sequestration.

► Central Kalimantan, Kutai basin and coastal peat dome dynamics differ markedly.
► Peat accumulation in Central Kalimantan closely followed Holocene sea-level changes.
► Stabilizing and falling sea-levels ∼5000 cal BP led to coastal peat dome formation.
► Different response of C-Kalimantan and coastal domes to past El Niño activity.
► Coastal peat domes spatially most efficient C-sequestering terrestrial ecosystem