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Counting the carbon cost of peatland conversion

Nature (2011)Cite this article

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A study has quantified emissions from clearing peat-swamp forest in Southeast Asia for palm-oil plantations.

Up to 6% of carbon-rich peat-swamp forests had been cleared in Peninsular Malaysia and on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra to make way for oil-palm plantations by the early 2000s, according to a study published today. The clearances, a response to rising demand for food and biofuel, released as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as the entire UK transport sector does in a year.

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References

  1. Koh, L. P., Miettinen, J., Liew, S. C. & Ghazoul, J. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA doi:10.1073/pnas.1018776108 (2011).

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Authors
  1. Gayathri Vaidyanathan
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Vaidyanathan, G. Counting the carbon cost of peatland conversion. Nature (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2011.139

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2011.139

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