Borneo Peat Carbon Study

Investigator:

Jesse Grossman

Advisor: Lisa Curran

Description:

Peat swamps and heath forests store large quantities of carbon. We plan to use satellite imagery to help quantify these areas in Borneo. The first step will be to find and acquire LandSat, and perhaps MODIS and ASTER, scenes for selected areas in Kalimantan. Focal areas will be the greater Gunung Palung area in West Kalimantan but select areas in East and Central Kalimantan may also be obtained.

Once a database of images is collected, delineated peat and heath forest areas will be classified using a combination of image interpretation and extant data from areas. This will contribute to the data collection plan for the summer 2005 field season.

Large questions to be addressed through this project include:

1. What is the nature of carbon flow in the West Kalimantan ecosystems (focusing on peat swamps and dipterocarp forests)?
2. How does anthropogenic disturbance (logging, oil palm conversion) affect carbon dynamics in above ecosystems?
3. How does natural disturbance (fire) affect carbon dynamics in above ecosystems?