Potential of peat carbon storage in natural forests Tripa Peat Swamp at Aceh Barat Daya District

Carbon storage is the total weight of carbon stored in the ecosystem at a certain time, especially in natural forests in the Tripa peat swamp area of Aceh Barat Daya. Peatlands are wetland ecosystems that are formed by the accumulation of organic matter on the forest floor from weathering of the vegetation on it over a long period of time. The research objectives were 1) to calculate peat soil carbon storage and 2) to measure the depth of peat soil in natural forest in the Tripa peat swamp area, Aceh Barat Daya Regency. The research activity was carried out from February to March 2021, in a natural forest in the Tripa Aceh Barat peat swamp area, divided into three stations and at each station, three sampling plots were made. Data collection using purposive sampling technique, Analysis of carbon stock was analyzed using the formula for calculating carbon stock by entering data on the percentage of soil organic carbon in the laboratory, and data on peat depth in a descriptive analysis. The results showed that the amount of peat soil carbon storage, especially in natural forest in the Tripa Aceh Barat Daya peat swamp area, was 2.556 tons/ha and the peat depth range was fibric with a depth of 0-95 cm, hemic 96-292 cm, and substance 293-310.