Impact of Oil Plam Plantations on biodiversityJambi, Central Sumatra, Indonesia
“Best bet” Land-use Systems
Thematic reports
Impact of different land uses on biodiversity
Biodiversity and Productivity Assessment for Sustainable Agroforest Ecosystems
Unique id: IDA1AMZB
Source file: D:\Projects\ASB\ASB Country and Thematic reports\Above ground biodiversity assessmet WG\PART G.xml
Authors: A.N. Gillison, N.Liswanti
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Period: 3 – 9 December 1999
Funding agency: ACIAR (
Summary
The
1. Introduction
A key research thrust of the ICRAF-led consortium on
Alternatives to Slash and Burn (ASB) is to generate tools that can be used by
managers and planners to seek options for sustainable management. This is
particularly relevant to ensuring sustainable management under scenarios of
unforecasted change in both the physical and social environments such as el
Nińo events and market shocks. In determining appropriate options it is
necessary to understand first, the nature of the underlying natural resource
and second the likely impact of land management on this, in particular
biodiversity and profitability. This report covers a biophysical investigation
of the impact of Oil Palm plantation establishment in a wide area of lowland
Despite the extremely high biological diversity, land clearing continues unabated. Formerly pristine rainforest and older rubber plantations and ‘jungle’ rubber are being rapidly converted to Oil Palm plantations on a massive scale. A recent study by Fox et al., (2000) (Box 1) indicates the scale of this replacement.
Oil Palm Plantations in
“The
establishment of Oil Palm plantations in the 1990s has been a major factor in
land clearance in
Source: Fox et al.
(2000).
The visible effects of
such large scale clearance can be seen in extreme gully erosion and widespread
infilling and exposure of streams and drainage systems in newly planted areas
(Figs. 5,6). While these tend to be
covered by regrowth the impact on plant and animal habitat is traumatic.
Whereas small-holder areas tend to retain a mosaic of forest cover, these are
removed by corporate holdings so that the gene pool of remaining endemic flora
and fauna is dramatically reduced. The implications from this are that even if
the Oil Palm plantations were abandoned and allowed to return to forest, there
would be few opportunities for re-establishment of native oplants and animals.
According to Fox et al. (2000) if current plans are to
proceed, additional allocations will bring the total land under palm oil in
Table 1. Oil Palm Plantations in
|
|
|
(1) |
|
(2) |
|
(3) |
|
Region |
|
Oil Palm Area Mid-1980 |
|
Land Planted to Oil
Palm |
|
Land Scheduled for Oil
Palm |
|
Aceh |
|
41,100 |
|
206,405 |
|
165,305 |
|
N. Sumatra |
|
550,400 |
|
612,617 |
|
62,217 |
|
W. Sumatra |
|
0 |
|
137,952 |
|
137.952 |
|
Riau |
|
102,200 |
|
606,165 |
|
503,965 |
|
Jambi |
|
30,400 |
|
236,059 |
|
205,659 |
|
S. Sumatra |
|
79,100 |
|
309,761 |
|
230,661 |
|
Bengkulu |
|
2,600 |
|
57,006 |
|
54,406 |
|
Lampung |
|
0 |
|
74,530 |
|
74,530 |
|
W. Kalimantan |
|
0 |
|
279,535 |
|
279,535 |
|
C. Kalimantan |
|
0 |
|
110,376 |
|
110,376 |
|
S. Kalimantan |
|
0 |
|
93,902 |
|
93,902 |
|
E. Kalimantan |
|
0 |
|
78,938 |
|
78,938 |
|
N. Sulawesi |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
C. Sulawesi |
|
11,800 |
|
18,036 |
|
6,236 |
|
S. Sulawesi |
|
0 |
|
83,215 |
|
83,215 |
|
SE Sulawesi |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
W. Nusa Tenggara |
|
1,800 |
|
21,502 |
|
19,702 |
|
Maluku |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
Irian Jaya |
|
23,300 |
|
31,080 |
|
7,780 |
|
|
|
842,700 |
|
2,957,079 |
|
2,114,379 |
Source: MoFEC, 1998
(quoted by Fox et al. 1999)
2. Methods
A field visit was
undertaken from 3 to 9 December 1999 to
the heartland of the Oil Palm industry of
Data were compiled using
the recently developed VegClass software package (Gillison and Carpenter,
2000). VegClass facilitates data compilation and storage using a data structure
and menu based on the rapid field survey proforma. The Windows© based package is capable of tabulating and
graphing specified variables in one or more plots and has the capacity of
generating PFT diversity indices using the commonly used Shannon-Wiener,
Simpson’s and Fisher’s Alpha measures (Magurran, 1996; Gillison et al. 2000, unpubl.) In addition the VegClass produces on demand a
Plant Functional Complexity (PFC) measure that reflects the total complexity of PFT combinations in any
one plot. The data summaries can be
exported to industry-standard packages such as Microsoft Excel© and Microsoft Access© databases.
The data were analysed using standard regression procedures (Minitab Ver. 12.21).
An exploratory data analysis package PATN (Belbin, 1992) was also used to
generate classifications using a Gower metric with a polythetic agglomerative
fusion strategy (unweighted pair-group averaging) and gradient analysis using
multidimensional scaling (semi-strong-hybrid) with a two-vector solution.
Previous research in multi-taxa baseline studies in Sumatra and
All sites were clearly
marked and carefully geo-referenced for follow-up studies of soil nutrients and
as a basis for studying related profitability (T.Tomich and M. van Noordwijk
pers. com.). Site records have been left with the ICRAF Office in Muarabungo as
well as at CIFOR in
3. Results
All vascular plant
species including plant families and genera and PFTs are listed in Annex
2. All plot data are stored in
electronic format at CIFOR,
Both the classification
(Fig. 1) and ordination (MDS) (Fig.2) show a clear separation of sites based on
age. The results confirm an ecological
observation in the field that after four years canopy closure occurs with the Oil
Palms. This represents a significant phase-shift in the under-canopy with a
reduction in herbaceous cover and in species and PFT composition and richness.
Two to four-year old plantations with open canopies offer a wider range of
ecological niches than the older ‘closed-canopy’ plantations. This is reflected
in a corresponding increase in species/PFT ratios in the latter where more
species occupy fewer PFTs (Table 4, Fig.3).
Despite the close correlation between plantation age and richness in
plant species and PFTs, the highest plant-based biodiversity occurs in large
holdings (>60,000 ha) operated by private individuals. Similarly sized
plantations owned by estates were poorer in both species and PFTs while
medium-sized, estate-owned plantations contained the lowest biodiversity
overall (Figs. 3 & 4).
The asymptotes shown in
the species:area, PFT:area and species/PFT:area curves (Annex 3) indicate that
with very few exceptions, all plots are sufficiently representative of the
target plantations. The curves with highest slopes for species and PFTs are
those under small-holder management. This indicates higher alpha-diversity for
small-holder versus large estate holdings.
4. Disussion and conclusions
Due to the relatively
low number of samples it was not possible to account for local variations in
fertiliser application, weeding regimes and grazing intensity by cattle and
buffalo. A greater density of samples will be required to accommodate these
effects. Despite these shortcomings the results illustrated here are consistent
with our observations in the fileld. The trends in impact on overall
plant-based biodiversity are also very clear – namely that estate-owned
plantations incur the highest impacts on biodiversity. This is no doubt due to
the more intense tending prescriptions involving pesticides and weedicides.
Compared with the generally widespread forested land use mosaics observed three
years earlier in the same general area, the impact observed on the landscape
during the survey was dramatic (Figs, 5,6) with massive reduction in indigenous
species and an increase in invasive weeds, particularly Asteraceae and
Melastomataceae. Plantations 10 years and older were, on the other hand
reservoirs of many fern species (Fig. 6) that became established in the axils
of dead Oil Palm fronds. Many of these (e.g. Dicranpoteris linearis, Nephrolepis biserrata, Pteris ensiliformis,
Pyrrosia lanceolata, Vittaria ensiformis) represent ‘weedy’ species. We
conclude that with the almost complete removal of stocks of native species of
both plants and anilmals that there is little potential for rehabilitation. The
widespread and ongoing conversion of forest to Oil Palm throughout the Jambi
lowlands and other areas of central and southern
International concern
has been widely expressed about the need for efficient management guidelines
and indicators that can be used to help sustain both biodiversity and
agricultural productivity (Reid, et al.
1993 ; World Bank, 1995) and in a way that is consistent with the National
Biodiversity Management Strategy of Indonesia (Government of Indonesia, 1993).
The present study has highlighted the need for adequate surveys prior to and
during large-scale land clearing and establishment of monoculture crops such as
Oil Palm. It appears certain that
without immediate Government intervention the biodiversity heritage of all or
most of the Sumatran lowlands will be lost within the next four to five years.
It is of paramount urgency that baseline studies be conducted in the remaining
foothills and uplands of the
5. References
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Table 2.
Site location and physical features
|
Site |
Symbols |
location |
Date |