Measuring the potential of biomass, carbon storage, and carbon sink of forest cloves

Abstract

Forest clove (Syzygiumaromaticum (L.) Merr& Perry) is a tree-shaped species that has been widely cultivated by farmers in its distribution area in Maluku. It grows relatively fast with large morphological sizes, giving it the potential of being a carbon sink plant. So far, information on the potential of biomass, carbon deposits, and carbon uptake of forest cloves is still limited. This study was aimed to determine the biomass potential, carbon deposits, and carbon uptake of forest cloves. It was carried out in the distribution area of Leihitu Subdistrict, Central Maluku Regency, from January to February 2019. The method used was a non- destructive one with a plot size of 20 x 20 m, chosen through purposive sampling and referring to carbon measurement standards, namely SNI: 7724 - 2011. Measurements were made on individual forest cloves and clove cropping systems. As a comparison, other land-use systems were used in the form of nutmeg gardens and mixed gardens. The study revealed a relationship pattern between the age of individual forest clove with biomass, carbon storage, and carbon uptake which were mathematically described as follows:y(biomass) = 0.7707(age)2 - 2.3947(age); y (carbon storage)= 0.3622(age)2 - 1.1255(age); y(carbon uptake) = 1.3294(age)2 - 4.1306(age). The results showed that biomass in the 15-year-old forest clove cropping system averaged 73.67 tons ha−1 with carbon deposits of 34.63 tons ha−1, and carbon absorption of 127.08 tons ha−1. Those results were slightly higher than those in the nutmeg cropping system, but lower compared to those of the mixed garden systems. The 15-year-old nutmeg cropping system had an average biomass of 44.30 tons ha−1 with carbon deposits of 20.82 tons ha−1, and carbon absorption of 76.41 tons ha−1. Meanwhile, the 15-year-old mixed garden system had a biomass of 259.59 tons ha−1, with carbon deposits of 122.01 tons ha−1, and carbon absorption of 447.77 tons ha−1.