Consistent data on tropical peat forest disturbances and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain limited. We quantified and compared driver-specific GHG emissions from aboveground biomass (AGB) loss, peat decomposition and fire from peat forest disturbances in Indonesia, Peru, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over 2020-2021. Direct drivers were identified through visual interpretation of Planet (4.77 m) and Sentinel-2A (10 m) imagery for 1000 randomly sampled disturbance events per country. We estimated CO2 emissions from AGB loss using pre-disturbance data from the Climate Change Initiative Biomass product. Emissions (CO2, CH4 and N2O) from peat decomposition were calculated using driver-specific emission factors. We computed emissions from fire applying refined values for prescribed peat fires. Large-scale agriculture was the primary driver of emissions in Indonesia (48%), followed by smallholder agriculture (26%), and grassland (10%). Conversely, smallholder agriculture was the dominant driver of emissions in Peru (59%) and DRC (94%). Logging contributed to emissions across all countries, while mining, road development, and river meandering were relevant mainly in Indonesia and Peru; windstorms played a minor role in Peru. Fire accounted for half of emissions and was predominantly linked to agriculture (80% in Indonesia, 75% in Peru, and 95% in DRC). Overall, CO2 was the dominant GHG (72%), followed by CH4 (20%) and N2O (8%). Across countries, combined emissions from AGB loss, peat decomposition and fire in the disturbance year (2020) exceeded post-disturbance peat decomposition emissions in 2021 by 19-20 times. Nevertheless, cumulative peat decomposition over two decades will eventually reach the massive emissions released from all sources in the disturbance year. Our analysis provides the first systematic cross-country comparison of driver-specific GHG emissions in tropical peat forests, underscoring the major role of fire associated with agricultural expansion and the long-term importance of post-disturbance peat decomposition. These findings offer key insights to inform (inter) national emission reduction policies and strengthen reporting of peat forest emissions under frameworks such as the Paris Agreement.
This work is licensed under CC-BY 4.0
This work is licensed under CC-BY 4.0
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TI - GHG emissions from recent peat forest disturbances: A driver-specific analysis across Indonesia, Peru, and DRC
AU - Nesha, K.
AU - Herold, M.
AU - Reiche, J.
AU - Swails, E.
AU - Hergoualc'h, K.
AB - Consistent data on tropical peat forest disturbances and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain limited. We quantified and compared driver-specific GHG emissions from aboveground biomass (AGB) loss, peat decomposition and fire from peat forest disturbances in Indonesia, Peru, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over 2020-2021. Direct drivers were identified through visual interpretation of Planet (4.77 m) and Sentinel-2A (10 m) imagery for 1000 randomly sampled disturbance events per country. We estimated CO2 emissions from AGB loss using pre-disturbance data from the Climate Change Initiative Biomass product. Emissions (CO2, CH4 and N2O) from peat decomposition were calculated using driver-specific emission factors. We computed emissions from fire applying refined values for prescribed peat fires. Large-scale agriculture was the primary driver of emissions in Indonesia (48%), followed by smallholder agriculture (26%), and grassland (10%). Conversely, smallholder agriculture was the dominant driver of emissions in Peru (59%) and DRC (94%). Logging contributed to emissions across all countries, while mining, road development, and river meandering were relevant mainly in Indonesia and Peru; windstorms played a minor role in Peru. Fire accounted for half of emissions and was predominantly linked to agriculture (80% in Indonesia, 75% in Peru, and 95% in DRC). Overall, CO2 was the dominant GHG (72%), followed by CH4 (20%) and N2O (8%). Across countries, combined emissions from AGB loss, peat decomposition and fire in the disturbance year (2020) exceeded post-disturbance peat decomposition emissions in 2021 by 19-20 times. Nevertheless, cumulative peat decomposition over two decades will eventually reach the massive emissions released from all sources in the disturbance year. Our analysis provides the first systematic cross-country comparison of driver-specific GHG emissions in tropical peat forests, underscoring the major role of fire associated with agricultural expansion and the long-term importance of post-disturbance peat decomposition. These findings offer key insights to inform (inter) national emission reduction policies and strengthen reporting of peat forest emissions under frameworks such as the Paris Agreement.
PY - 2026
UR - https://www.cifor-icraf.org/knowledge/publication/46553/
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.129290
KW - aboveground biomass, carbon dioxide, carbon sequestration, decomposition, greenhouse gas emissions, land use, methane, nitrous oxide, peat, peatlands, remote sensing, small scale farming, tropical forests
ER -Endnote (.ciw)
%T GHG emissions from recent peat forest disturbances: A driver-specific analysis across Indonesia, Peru, and DRC
%A Nesha, K.
%A Herold, M.
%A Reiche, J.
%A Swails, E.
%A Hergoualc'h, K.
%D 2026
%U https://www.cifor-icraf.org/knowledge/publication/46553/
%R https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.129290
%X Consistent data on tropical peat forest disturbances and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain limited. We quantified and compared driver-specific GHG emissions from aboveground biomass (AGB) loss, peat decomposition and fire from peat forest disturbances in Indonesia, Peru, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over 2020-2021. Direct drivers were identified through visual interpretation of Planet (4.77 m) and Sentinel-2A (10 m) imagery for 1000 randomly sampled disturbance events per country. We estimated CO2 emissions from AGB loss using pre-disturbance data from the Climate Change Initiative Biomass product. Emissions (CO2, CH4 and N2O) from peat decomposition were calculated using driver-specific emission factors. We computed emissions from fire applying refined values for prescribed peat fires. Large-scale agriculture was the primary driver of emissions in Indonesia (48%), followed by smallholder agriculture (26%), and grassland (10%). Conversely, smallholder agriculture was the dominant driver of emissions in Peru (59%) and DRC (94%). Logging contributed to emissions across all countries, while mining, road development, and river meandering were relevant mainly in Indonesia and Peru; windstorms played a minor role in Peru. Fire accounted for half of emissions and was predominantly linked to agriculture (80% in Indonesia, 75% in Peru, and 95% in DRC). Overall, CO2 was the dominant GHG (72%), followed by CH4 (20%) and N2O (8%). Across countries, combined emissions from AGB loss, peat decomposition and fire in the disturbance year (2020) exceeded post-disturbance peat decomposition emissions in 2021 by 19-20 times. Nevertheless, cumulative peat decomposition over two decades will eventually reach the massive emissions released from all sources in the disturbance year. Our analysis provides the first systematic cross-country comparison of driver-specific GHG emissions in tropical peat forests, underscoring the major role of fire associated with agricultural expansion and the long-term importance of post-disturbance peat decomposition. These findings offer key insights to inform (inter) national emission reduction policies and strengthen reporting of peat forest emissions under frameworks such as the Paris Agreement.
%K aboveground biomass
%K carbon dioxide
%K carbon sequestration
%K decomposition
%K greenhouse gas emissions
%K land use
%K methane
%K nitrous oxide
%K peat
%K peatlands
%K remote sensing
%K small scale farming
%K tropical forests
Publication year
2026
ISSN
0301-4797
Authors
Nesha, K.; Herold, M.; Reiche, J.; Swails, E.; Hergoualc'h, K.
Language
English
Keywords
aboveground biomass, carbon dioxide, carbon sequestration, decomposition, greenhouse gas emissions, land use, methane, nitrous oxide, peat, peatlands, remote sensing, small scale farming, tropical forests
Source
Journal of Environmental Management. 404: 129290
Geographic
Peru, Indonesia, Democratic Republic of the Congo
