A record of Late Pleistocene and Holocene carbon accumulation and climate change from an equatorial peat bog (Kalimantan, Indonesia): implications for past, present and future carbon dynamics

Abstract A 9.5 m core from an inland peatland in Kalimantan, Indonesia, reveals organic matter accumulation started around 26 000 cal. yr BP, providing the oldest reported initiation date for lowland ombrotrophic peat formation in SE Asia. The core shows clear evidence for differential rates of peat formation and carbon storage. A short period of initial accumulation is followed by a slow rate during the LGM, with fastest accumulation during the Holocene. Between ∼13 000 and 8000 cal. yr BP, > 450 cm of peat were deposited, with highest rates of peat (> 2 mm yr −1 ) and carbon (> 90 g C m −2 yr −1 ) accumulation between 9530 and 8590 cal. yr BP. These data suggest that Kalimantan peatlands acted as a large sink of atmospheric CO 2 at this time. Slower rates of peat (0.15–0.38 mm yr −1 ) and carbon (7.4–24.0 g C m −2 yr −1 ) accumulation between ∼8000 and 500 cal. yr BP coincide with rapid peat formation in coastal locations elsewhere in SE Asia. The average LORCA (long‐term apparent carbon accumulation rate) for the 9.5 m core is 56 g C m −2 yr −1 . These data suggest that studies of global carbon sources, sinks and their dynamics need to include information on the past and present sizeable peat deposits of the tropics. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.