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Age, extent and carbon storage of the central Congo Basin peatland complex

Overview of attention for article published in Nature, January 2017
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  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (99th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (94th percentile)

Mentioned by

news
63 news outlets
blogs
18 blogs
policy
4 policy sources
twitter
269 X users
facebook
11 Facebook pages
wikipedia
5 Wikipedia pages

Citations

dimensions_citation
451 Dimensions

Readers on

mendeley
619 Mendeley
citeulike
2 CiteULike
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Title
Age, extent and carbon storage of the central Congo Basin peatland complex
Published in
Nature, January 2017
DOI 10.1038/nature21048
Pubmed ID
Authors

Greta C. Dargie, Simon L. Lewis, Ian T. Lawson, Edward T. A. Mitchard, Susan E. Page, Yannick E. Bocko, Suspense A. Ifo

Abstract

Peatlands are carbon-rich ecosystems that cover just three per cent of Earth's land surface, but store one-third of soil carbon. Peat soils are formed by the build-up of partially decomposed organic matter under waterlogged anoxic conditions. Most peat is found in cool climatic regions where unimpeded decomposition is slower, but deposits are also found under some tropical swamp forests. Here we present field measurements from one of the world's most extensive regions of swamp forest, the Cuvette Centrale depression in the central Congo Basin. We find extensive peat deposits beneath the swamp forest vegetation (peat defined as material with an organic matter content of at least 65 per cent to a depth of at least 0.3 metres). Radiocarbon dates indicate that peat began accumulating from about 10,600 years ago, coincident with the onset of more humid conditions in central Africa at the beginning of the Holocene. The peatlands occupy large interfluvial basins, and seem to be largely rain-fed and ombrotrophic-like (of low nutrient status) systems. Although the peat layer is relatively shallow (with a maximum depth of 5.9 metres and a median depth of 2.0 metres), by combining in situ and remotely sensed data, we estimate the area of peat to be approximately 145,500 square kilometres (95 per cent confidence interval of 131,900-156,400 square kilometres), making the Cuvette Centrale the most extensive peatland complex in the tropics. This area is more than five times the maximum possible area reported for the Congo Basin in a recent synthesis of pantropical peat extent. We estimate that the peatlands store approximately 30.6 petagrams (30.6 × 10(15) grams) of carbon belowground (95 per cent confidence interval of 6.3-46.8 petagrams of carbon)-a quantity that is similar to the above-ground carbon stocks of the tropical forests of the entire Congo Basin. Our result for the Cuvette Centrale increases the best estimate of global tropical peatland carbon stocks by 36 per cent, to 104.7 petagrams of carbon (minimum estimate of 69.6 petagrams of carbon; maximum estimate of 129.8 petagrams of carbon). This stored carbon is vulnerable to land-use change and any future reduction in precipitation.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 269 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 619 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Germany 2 <1%
United States 2 <1%
Japan 2 <1%
Brazil 1 <1%
United Kingdom 1 <1%
Denmark 1 <1%
Italy 1 <1%
Canada 1 <1%
Estonia 1 <1%
Other 0 0%
Unknown 607 98%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Researcher 109 18%
Student > Ph. D. Student 97 16%
Student > Master 76 12%
Other 44 7%
Student > Bachelor 36 6%
Other 100 16%
Unknown 157 25%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Environmental Science 187 30%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 100 16%
Earth and Planetary Sciences 82 13%
Engineering 9 1%
Social Sciences 7 1%
Other 38 6%
Unknown 196 32%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 757. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 23 March 2024.
All research outputs
#26,093
of 25,546,214 outputs
Outputs from Nature
#2,471
of 98,223 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#535
of 424,625 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Nature
#48
of 857 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,546,214 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 98,223 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 102.6. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 97% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 424,625 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 857 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 94% of its contemporaries.