The partitioning of soil respiration (SR) to root respiration (RR) and microbial respiration (MR) was conducted using the root exclusion and closed chamber method in three ecosystems on tropical peatlands. RR was estimated by differencing SR and MR. The forest ecosystem displayed significantly higher monthly MR compared with oil palm and sago ecosystems with the highest value of 219 mg CO₂ C m^-2 hr^-1 in May 2003. This might be attributed to its thick leaf litter and root mat, and water filled pore space which was conducive for microbial activity. The lowest range of MR, between 153 mg CO₂ C m^-2 hr^-1 (October) and 34 mg CO^₂ C m^-2 hr^-1 (September), was found in the sago ecosystem probably due to its high water-table. The highest RR was recorded in the forest (172 mg CO₂ C m^-2 hr^-1), followed by oil palm (128 mg CO₂ C m^-2 hr^-1) and sago (95 mg CO₂ C m^-2 hr^-1). The latter might be ascribed to its slow growth rate, while the former to higher root biomass and growth rate. The annual ratio of RR to SR was 52% in the sago ecosystem and 60% to 62% in both oil palm and forest ecosystems.