Distribution of Peat Depth in Tropical Peat Swamp Area in Narathiwat of the Southern Part of Thailand

Building an Ecological Environmental GIS Database for Monitoring Carbon Balance

抄録

An ecological study in the area of tropical swamp forest in Narathiwat of the southern part of Thailand was conducted. The study area was about 3km by 10km. Some measurements or observations were made of the depth of peat, the ground water level, soil texture, pH, vegetation type, and vegetation coverage. The differential GPS was applied to locate sampling points. Then, using the Kriging interpolation method, the distribution map of peat depth was drawn and the average peat depth and the volume of peat around the study site were computed. They are about 1.1m and 45, 643, 000m³, respectively. This map not only is useful to estimate the amount of carbon in the peat over the tropical swamp peat area and the emission rate of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but also is helpful for land-use planning around this region, considering the decomposition rate of the peat layer.