Tropical peat composition may provide a negative feedback on fire occurrence and severity

Alastair J. Crawford (), Claire M. Belcher, Stacey New, Angela Gallego-Sala, Graeme T. Swindles, Susan Page, Tatiana A. Blyakharchuk, Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz, Dan J. Charman, Mariusz Gałka, Paul D. M. Hughes, Outi Lähteenoja, Dmitri Mauquoy, Thomas P. Roland and Minna Väliranta
Additional contact information
Alastair J. Crawford: Hatherly Laboratories, University of Exeter
Claire M. Belcher: Hatherly Laboratories, University of Exeter
Stacey New: Met Office
Angela Gallego-Sala: University of Exeter
Graeme T. Swindles: Queen’s University Belfast
Susan Page: University of Leicester
Tatiana A. Blyakharchuk: Tomsk State University
Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz: Arizona State University
Dan J. Charman: University of Exeter
Mariusz Gałka: University of Lodz
Paul D. M. Hughes: University of Southampton
Dmitri Mauquoy: University of Aberdeen
Thomas P. Roland: University of Exeter
Minna Väliranta: University of Helsinki

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Loss of peat through increased burning will have major impacts on the global carbon cycle. In a normal hydrological state, the risk of fire propagation is largely controlled by peat bulk density and moisture content. However, where humans have interfered with the moisture status of peat either via drainage, or indirectly via climate change, we hypothesise that its botanical composition will become important to flammability, such that peats from different latitudes might have different compositionally-driven susceptibility to ignition. We use pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry to determine the temperature of maximum thermal decomposition (Tmax) of peats from different latitudes, and couple this to a botanical composition analysis. We find that tropical peat has higher Tmax than other regions, likely on account of its higher wood content which appears to convey a greater resistance to ignition. This resistance also increases with depth, which means that loss of surface peat in tropical regions may lead to a reduction in the subsequent ignitability of deeper peat layers as they are exposed, potentially resulting in a negative feedback on increased fire occurrence and severity.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50916-7

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