The evaluation of agroforestry development in marginal land area of Gunungkidul, Indonesia

Abstract

Forests are expected to provide social and economic benefits to the community, in addition to the ecological benefits. The production forest in Gunungkidul which is managed by the Yogyakarta Forest Management Unit (FMU) is dominated by teak (Tectona grandis) and cajuput (Melaleuca cajuput) as the main crop. Gunungkidul is dominated by marginal land with low nutrients, low pH, and low organic matter. Agroforestry is known as a promising option in land use systems considering multi-strata canopy combinations and multi-products. This study aimed to compare two types of agroforestry with two main crops; teak and cajuput tree concerning cultivation, economy, and social benefits. The method used was in-depth interviews with the forest community and FMU Yogyakarta. The number of respondents was 60 forest farmers, from which 30 farmers each for the two agroforestry patterns, and the staff of FMU Yogyakarta consisted of 2 people from the management staff and 2 people from the field staff. The main data were forest farmer activities in state forests, including income and expenses during cultivation. In addition, the data includes perceptions and data regarding the advantages of the community forests (CF) program from the aspects of the economy, social (preference), and cultivation. The results showed that economically, cajuput tree-based agroforestry activities contributed more income than teak-based agroforestry. In the cultivation aspect, farmers prefer cajuput stands because they have wider open land. Likewise, FMU considers cajuput tree cultivation easier and the risk of theft (i.e. illegal cutting) smaller. However, teak agroforestry is more environmentally friendly than cajuput, for example, teak litter can be a source of natural organic fertilizer. Therefore, it is necessary to find a technical solution to deal with this difference of interests to secure the success of agroforestry implementation such as suitable spacing, the combination of cropping patterns, and intensive cultivation.