Tropical Peat and Peatland Development in the Floodplains of the Greater Pamba Basin, South-Western India during the Holocene.

Holocene sequences in the humid tropical region of Kerala, South-western (SW) India have preserved abundance of organic-rich sediments in the form of peat and its rapid development in a narrow time frame towards Middle Holocene has been found to be significant. The sub-coastal areas and flood plains...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Navnith K P Kumaran, Damodaran Padmalal, Ruta B Limaye, Vishnu Mohan S, Tim Jennerjahn, Pradeep G Gamre
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4862630?pdf=render
_version_ 1818600633715916800
author Navnith K P Kumaran
Damodaran Padmalal
Ruta B Limaye
Vishnu Mohan S
Tim Jennerjahn
Pradeep G Gamre
author_facet Navnith K P Kumaran
Damodaran Padmalal
Ruta B Limaye
Vishnu Mohan S
Tim Jennerjahn
Pradeep G Gamre
author_sort Navnith K P Kumaran
collection DOAJ
description Holocene sequences in the humid tropical region of Kerala, South-western (SW) India have preserved abundance of organic-rich sediments in the form of peat and its rapid development in a narrow time frame towards Middle Holocene has been found to be significant. The sub-coastal areas and flood plains of the Greater Pamba Basin have provided palaeorecords of peat indicating that the deposits are essentially formed within freshwater. The combination of factors like stabilized sea level and its subsequent fall since the Middle Holocene, topographic relief and climatic conditions led to rapid peat accumulation across the coastal lowlands. The high rainfall and massive floods coupled with a rising sea level must have inundated > 75% of the coastal plain land converting it into a veritable lagoon-lake system that eventually led to abrupt termination of the forest ecosystem and also converted the floodplains into peatland where accumulation of peat almost to 2.0-3.0 m thickness in coastal lowlands and river basins during the shorter interval in the Middle Holocene. Vast areas of the coastal plains of Kerala have been converted into carbon rich peatland during the Middle Holocene and transforming the entire coastal stretch and associated landforms as one of the relatively youngest peatlands in the extreme southern tip of India. Unlike the uninterrupted formation of peatlands of considerable extent during the Holocene in Southeast Asia, the south Peninsular Indian region has restricted and short intervals of peatlands in the floodplains and coastal lowlands. Such a scenario is attributed to the topographic relief of the terrain and the prevailing hydrological regimes and environmental conditions as a consequence of monsoon variability since Middle Holocene in SW India. Considering the tropical coastal lowlands and associated peatlands are excellent repositories of carbon, they are very important for regional carbon cycling and habitat diversity. The alarming rate of land modification and development is destabilizing these carbon pools resulting in large scale carbon emissions to the atmosphere and loss of low-latitude peat palaeorecords. Therefore, these palaeorecords are to be conserved and addressed for better understanding and utilizing the carbon pool for effective climate change adaptation. This communication is the first attempt of addressing the peat formation and peatland development during the Holocene from the tropical region of Peninsular India.
first_indexed 2024-12-16T12:38:36Z
format Article
id doaj.art-e42a45c7ecbc42178b242a8b189ce69d
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-16T12:38:36Z
publishDate 2016-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-e42a45c7ecbc42178b242a8b189ce69d2022-12-21T22:31:29ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01115e015429710.1371/journal.pone.0154297Tropical Peat and Peatland Development in the Floodplains of the Greater Pamba Basin, South-Western India during the Holocene.Navnith K P KumaranDamodaran PadmalalRuta B LimayeVishnu Mohan STim JennerjahnPradeep G GamreHolocene sequences in the humid tropical region of Kerala, South-western (SW) India have preserved abundance of organic-rich sediments in the form of peat and its rapid development in a narrow time frame towards Middle Holocene has been found to be significant. The sub-coastal areas and flood plains of the Greater Pamba Basin have provided palaeorecords of peat indicating that the deposits are essentially formed within freshwater. The combination of factors like stabilized sea level and its subsequent fall since the Middle Holocene, topographic relief and climatic conditions led to rapid peat accumulation across the coastal lowlands. The high rainfall and massive floods coupled with a rising sea level must have inundated > 75% of the coastal plain land converting it into a veritable lagoon-lake system that eventually led to abrupt termination of the forest ecosystem and also converted the floodplains into peatland where accumulation of peat almost to 2.0-3.0 m thickness in coastal lowlands and river basins during the shorter interval in the Middle Holocene. Vast areas of the coastal plains of Kerala have been converted into carbon rich peatland during the Middle Holocene and transforming the entire coastal stretch and associated landforms as one of the relatively youngest peatlands in the extreme southern tip of India. Unlike the uninterrupted formation of peatlands of considerable extent during the Holocene in Southeast Asia, the south Peninsular Indian region has restricted and short intervals of peatlands in the floodplains and coastal lowlands. Such a scenario is attributed to the topographic relief of the terrain and the prevailing hydrological regimes and environmental conditions as a consequence of monsoon variability since Middle Holocene in SW India. Considering the tropical coastal lowlands and associated peatlands are excellent repositories of carbon, they are very important for regional carbon cycling and habitat diversity. The alarming rate of land modification and development is destabilizing these carbon pools resulting in large scale carbon emissions to the atmosphere and loss of low-latitude peat palaeorecords. Therefore, these palaeorecords are to be conserved and addressed for better understanding and utilizing the carbon pool for effective climate change adaptation. This communication is the first attempt of addressing the peat formation and peatland development during the Holocene from the tropical region of Peninsular India.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4862630?pdf=render
spellingShingle Navnith K P Kumaran
Damodaran Padmalal
Ruta B Limaye
Vishnu Mohan S
Tim Jennerjahn
Pradeep G Gamre
Tropical Peat and Peatland Development in the Floodplains of the Greater Pamba Basin, South-Western India during the Holocene.
PLoS ONE
title Tropical Peat and Peatland Development in the Floodplains of the Greater Pamba Basin, South-Western India during the Holocene.
title_full Tropical Peat and Peatland Development in the Floodplains of the Greater Pamba Basin, South-Western India during the Holocene.
title_fullStr Tropical Peat and Peatland Development in the Floodplains of the Greater Pamba Basin, South-Western India during the Holocene.
title_full_unstemmed Tropical Peat and Peatland Development in the Floodplains of the Greater Pamba Basin, South-Western India during the Holocene.
title_short Tropical Peat and Peatland Development in the Floodplains of the Greater Pamba Basin, South-Western India during the Holocene.
title_sort tropical peat and peatland development in the floodplains of the greater pamba basin south western india during the holocene
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4862630?pdf=render
work_keys_str_mv AT navnithkpkumaran tropicalpeatandpeatlanddevelopmentinthefloodplainsofthegreaterpambabasinsouthwesternindiaduringtheholocene
AT damodaranpadmalal tropicalpeatandpeatlanddevelopmentinthefloodplainsofthegreaterpambabasinsouthwesternindiaduringtheholocene
AT rutablimaye tropicalpeatandpeatlanddevelopmentinthefloodplainsofthegreaterpambabasinsouthwesternindiaduringtheholocene
AT vishnumohans tropicalpeatandpeatlanddevelopmentinthefloodplainsofthegreaterpambabasinsouthwesternindiaduringtheholocene
AT timjennerjahn tropicalpeatandpeatlanddevelopmentinthefloodplainsofthegreaterpambabasinsouthwesternindiaduringtheholocene
AT pradeepggamre tropicalpeatandpeatlanddevelopmentinthefloodplainsofthegreaterpambabasinsouthwesternindiaduringtheholocene