How draining peatlands impacts plant and animal life

Jim Crocker
9th October, 2025

How draining peatlands impacts plant and animal life

The study in West Kalimantan assessed wildlife diversity in degraded peatlands, like this disturbed wet shrub, to understand the effectiveness of restoration efforts such as canal blocking.

Image adapted from: Imron et al. / CC BY (Source)

Key Findings

  • This study examined wildlife diversity in peatland areas of West Kalimantan, Indonesia, following canal blocking restoration efforts
  • Forested habitats consistently supported higher wildlife diversity and species richness compared to open estate crop areas
  • Canal blocking alone doesn't guarantee immediate biodiversity recovery; habitat complexity and prior disturbance levels play significant roles
Tropical peatlands are vital ecosystems, storing vast amounts of carbon and supporting unique biodiversity. However, they are increasingly threatened by drainage for agriculture, forestry, and other land uses, leading to habitat loss and significant carbon emissions. Indonesia holds a particularly large proportion of the world’s tropical peatlands[2], and their management is crucial for global climate mitigation. While restoration efforts, such as blocking drainage canals to rewet peatlands, are underway, understanding the impact of these interventions on wildlife populations has remained limited. A recent study by researchers from Universitas Gadjah Mada, WWF Indonesia, Lembaga JAWI Indonesia, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Research and Innovation Agency (Indonesia)[1] investigated wildlife diversity in peatland areas undergoing rewetting following canal blocking in West Kalimantan. The aim was to assess whether these restoration efforts were successfully promoting the recovery of biodiversity. Peatlands function as natural sponges, storing water and supporting specialized plant and animal communities. Draining peatlands disrupts this hydrological balance, causing the peat to dry out, decompose, and release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This also destroys habitats and reduces the resources available to wildlife. Previous research has highlighted the carbon-dense nature of tropical peatlands[3], and the importance of their water storage dynamics for maintaining these carbon stocks. The study builds on this understanding by examining the ecological consequences of restoring peatland hydrology. The researchers conducted surveys in four different habitat types: less disturbed peat forest, disturbed peat forest, areas converted to estate crops (like palm oil plantations), and disturbed wet shrubland. Data collection occurred during both the wet and dry seasons to account for seasonal variations in wildlife activity. They employed line transects – established paths where observers systematically counted animals – and point counts – fixed locations where animals were observed and identified. Additionally, autonomous recording units were deployed to capture soundscapes, providing a non-invasive method for assessing acoustic diversity as a proxy for overall biodiversity. The results consistently showed that habitats with more complex structures, namely the forested areas, supported higher levels of wildlife diversity compared to the open and uniform vegetation found in the estate crop and disturbed shrubland. This was confirmed using both Shannon and Simpson diversity indices – statistical measures of species richness and evenness – and acoustic indices, which revealed greater “biophony” (the collective sound of biological organisms) in forested areas. This aligns with general ecological principles, as complex habitats provide a wider range of resources and shelter for different species. However, the study found limited evidence to directly link canal blocking to increased wildlife diversity across all rewetting sites. While rewetting is essential for restoring peatland ecosystems, the recovery of biodiversity appears to be a more complex process. Factors such as the extent of prior disturbance, the surrounding landscape, and the time since canal blocking likely play significant roles. This is consistent with earlier findings that performance of peatland models is often regionally dependent due to differences in hydrological response and meteorological forcing data[3]. The researchers emphasize the importance of aligning biodiversity conservation efforts with the “natural climate solutions hierarchy” – a framework prioritizing protection, sustainable management, and restoration. This means first protecting intact peatland forests, then managing existing disturbed areas to reduce further degradation, and finally, actively restoring degraded peatlands through measures like canal blocking. This approach, they argue, offers the most promising path for recovering these vital ecosystems.

EnvironmentSustainabilityEcology

References

Main Study

1) Effect of canal blocking on biodiversity of degraded peatlands: Insight from West Kalimantan

Published 8th October, 2025

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0334014

Related Studies

2) An appraisal of Indonesia's immense peat carbon stock using national peatland maps: uncertainties and potential losses from conversion.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-017-0080-2

3) Tropical Peatland Hydrology Simulated With a Global Land Surface Model.

https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002784

4) Tropical peatlands and their contribution to the global carbon cycle and climate change.

https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15408


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