Abstract
The carbon (C) footprint of palm oil production is needed to judge emissions from potential biofuel use. Relevance includes wider sustainable palm oil debates. Within life cycle analysis, aboveground C debt is incurred if the vegetation replaced had a higher C stock than oil palm plantations. Our study included 25 plantations across Indonesia, in a stratified study design representing the range of conditions in which oil palm is grown. From allometric equations for palm biomass and observed growth rates, we estimated the time-averaged aboveground C stock for 25-year rotation and 95%-confidence interval to be 42.07 (42.04–42.10) Mg C ha−1 for plantations managed by company on mineral soils, 40.03 (39.75–40.30) Mg C ha−1 for plantations managed by company on peat, and 37.76 (37.42–38.09) Mg C ha−1 for smallholder oil palm on mineral soils. Oil palm can be established C debt-free on mineral soils with aboveground C stocks below these values; neutrality of mineral soil C pools was documented in a parallel study. Acknowledging variation in shoot:root ratios, the types of vegetation that can be converted debt-free to oil palm include grasslands and shrub, but not monocultural rubber plantations, rubber agroforest, and similar secondary or logged-over forests of higher C stock.
Highlights
Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantations and their expansion may well be the driver of deforestation in Indonesia that has the highest degree of public scrutiny (Carlson et al, 2012; McCarthy, 2010; Sheil et al, 2009)
In the most comprehensive study to date, we explored how this C stock varies in Indonesia, global leader in palm oil production
Carbon debts incurred at establishment of oil palm plantations can take decades or centuries to repay, depending on subsequent productivity, or have infinite payback times on peat soils where recurrent CO2 emissions exceed the possible emission saving from the fossil fuel for which it was substituted (Danielsen et al, 2009; Germer & Sauerborn, 2008; Gibbs et al, 2008; Searchinger et al, 2008)
Summary
Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantations and their expansion may well be the driver of deforestation in Indonesia that has the highest degree of public scrutiny (Carlson et al, 2012; McCarthy, 2010; Sheil et al, 2009). Demand of palm oil has increased, as it is a source of fats and oil for food products (Tan et al, 2009) as well as biofuel feedstock to replace fossil fuel (Reijnders & Huijbregts, 2008; Tan et al, 2009) These multiple types of use have promoted expansion of oil palm plantation in Indonesia, and in Malaysia (Barlow, Zahari, & Ria, 2003; Danielsen et al, 2009; Koh & Wilcove, 2008), and at more modest scale elsewhere in the humid tropics. Carbon debts incurred at establishment of oil palm plantations can take decades or centuries to repay, depending on subsequent productivity, or have infinite payback times on peat soils where recurrent CO2 emissions exceed the possible emission saving from the fossil fuel for which it was substituted (Danielsen et al, 2009; Germer & Sauerborn, 2008; Gibbs et al, 2008; Searchinger et al, 2008)
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