Long-term disturbance dynamics and resilience of tropical peat swamp forests

Authors:
Lydia E.S. Cole, Shonil A. Bhagwat and Katherine J. Willis

Book:
Proceedings of the 15th International Peat Congress

Venue:
Kuching

Keywords:
coastal-peat-swamp-forest, peatlands, vegetation

Documentfile:
ipc16p25slater.pdf

Summary:

 

SUMMARY

The coastal peat swamp forests of Southeast Asia are rapidly undergoing logging and conversion into oil palm  plantations. These ecosystems are assumed to have experienced little significant natural or anthropogenic disturbance in the past, persisting under a single ecologicallystable regime. However, their longterm disturbance history has been poorly assessed, and little is known of their resilience to internal and external stresses. Have peat swamp forests been disturbed in the past? What were the drivers? How did the vegetation respond? In order to…