Ground-based measurements of column-averaged carbon dioxide molar mixing ratios in a peatland fire-prone area of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Tropical peatlands in Indonesia have been disturbed over decades and are a source of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) into the atmosphere by peat respiration and peatland fire. With a portable solar spectrometer, we have performed measurements of column-averaged CO(2) dry-air molar mixing ratios, XCO(2), in Palangka Raya, Indonesia, and quantify the emission dynamics of the peatland with use of the data for weather, fire hotspot, ground water table, local airport operation visibility and weather radar images. Total emission of CO(2) from surface and underground peat fires as well as from peatland ecosystem is evaluated by day-to-day variability of XCO(2). We found that the peatland fire and the net ecosystem CO(2) exchange contributed with the same order of magnitude to the CO(2) emission during the non-El Niño Southern Oscillation year of July 2014-August 2015.