Peatland Research Articles

Have forest and land fires been controlled properly?

It is certain that in almost every year forest and land fires in Indonesia will occur, no matter whether it is affected by El-Nino or not. Of course, the negative impacts it causes accompany the fires that occur, such as on health, economic development, social relations, relations between countries, and so on, including the production of greenhouse gas emissions produced during fires, especially on peat land. The results of research and field observations confirm that although the laws and regulations require corporations to construct canal blocks, monitor ground water levels, equip their business areas with fire control facilities and infrastructure, and so on, it turns out that many do not fulfil their obligations. carried out by corporations, including those that often state that they care about the environment the most in the public as well as corporations with investments from abroad. Not to mention what happened on community land where it was proven that the burning was not only a matter of the stomach but had a business nuance, where the fire was no longer 2 ha as legalized for indigenous or traditional communities, but there were already hundreds of ha. This fact confirms that the forest and land fires that occur ensure that not all obligations have been fulfilled and implemented. Not to mention that many district/city or provincial governments are still stuttering in carrying out control activities in the field, as a result of the unavailability of sufficient funds is also not a priority.

Modelling the performance of bunds and ditch dams in the hydrological restoration of tropical peatlands

AbstractMany tropical peatlands are subjected to artificial drainage that leads to degradation. Hence, hydrological restoration has recently been prioritized. Nevertheless, as field monitoring data are limited, little is known about how restoration measures, such as ditch dams and bunds, can regulate tropical peatland water tables. We used a hydrodynamic model —DigiBog_Hydro— to simulate the effectiveness of ditch dams and bunds across three El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) scenarios, which are El Niño, La Niña and Neutral, in three typical sites. The sites were moderately degraded (Mod‐Dgr) and severely degraded (Sev‐Dgr) peatland plots (each 0.2 km2), representing typical peatland conditions in Sebangau National Park, Kalimantan, Indonesia. Our fine‐scale (1 m × 1 m spatial resolution) modelling revealed that in the dry season of any ENSO scenario, the significant effects of ditch‐dams alone on peatland water‐level were limited to lateral distances of 26 m (in Mod‐Dgr) and 12 m (in Sev‐Dgr) from the ditch. In the dry season of an El Niño year, the combination of ditch dams and bunds helped maintain water levels up to 72 cm (in Mod‐Dgr) and 69 cm (in Sev‐Dgr) higher than in the no‐restoration condition. During the extreme‐dry period of an El Niño year, the bunds reduced the number of days when the water table was deeper than 40 cm in Mod‐Dgr and in Sev‐Dgr by 50% and 73%, respectively. We suggest that bunds used in combination with ditch dams are a practical restoration measure for tropical peatlands, providing critical extra water storage and helping maintain water tables near the peatland surface in dry periods. We also demonstrate how fine‐scale hydrodynamic modelling is beneficial for planning and assessment of restoration measures in tropical peatlands.

Producing information from airborne LiDAR data for peatland forest management

In Finland, peatland forests are significant for wood supply, although simultaneously, they are also important for biodiversity, carbon sequestration, water conservation, and recreation. In the 1960s and 1970s, peatland forests in Finland were extensively drained to increase tree growth and fulfil the needs of the forest sector. However, this extensive drainage has negatively impacted on the biodiversity of peatland ecosystems, and substantially increased nutrient and sediment emissions to lakes and rivers resulting in eutrophication, turbidity, and brownification of these water bodies. This dissertation presents a number of approaches to move peatland forest management in a more environmentally sound direction, which may increase the general acceptability of peatland forestry. Airborne LiDAR (Light detection and ranging, i.e., laser scanning) derived 3D point cloud provides useful data, for example, to estimate forest biomass, to identify low-productive peatland forests, to model overland water flows, and to identify wet areas. The strength of airborne LiDAR is the ability of laser pulses to pass through tree canopies and obtain accurate observations from the ground level. The information derived from airborne LiDAR can enhance the planning of peatland forest management, as much of the planning can be done remotely, and supplementary field work can be implemented in areas of strategic need. This study presented the novel idea of applying local binary patterns for the prediction of terrain trafficability, which should be considered in further studies and practice. The moisture index derived from the local neighborhood can reveal the small-scale variations in terrain moisture. This study also presented the novel idea to create spatial models to identify suitable locations for water protection structures, which may help forest managers to plan water protection of ditch network maintenance or peatland restoration operations. Overall, the utilization of airborne LiDAR-derived information for the development of peatland forestry practices shows great potential.

The growth and production of field rice (Oryza sativa l.) Inpari 9 and Mentik Wangi variety on peat land and peat buried

Rice plant is paddy producing plant needed by most of Indonesians as staple food. Sei Geringging Village in Kampar District, Kampar Kiri Sub-District had technically irrigated field on peat land and peat buried. Farmers on Sei Geringging Village farmed 2 kinds of rice which were prime variety and local variety. Most of prime variety farmed was Inpari 9 and the local variety was Mentik Wangi. Farmers on Sei Geringging Village had been farming the rice without knowing which variety had been best to farm on peat land and on peat buried that the yield had not been optimal. This research aimed to know the comparison of maximum growth and production rate of Inpari 9 and Mentik Wangi variety rice on peat land and peat buried. This research was done by a survey with descriptive method .Treatment combination was repeatedly done 4 times resulting 16 unit trial squares. Each square had 5 sample plants. Best growth was on peat land that planted with the Inpari 9 variety and on peat buried was planted with Mentik Wangi variety resulting yield of 4,20 ton.ha-1

Aquatic carbon concentrations and fluxes in a degraded blanket peatland with piping and pipe outlet blocking

AbstractSoil piping is an important agent of erosion in many environments, including blanket peatlands. Peatland restoration that aims to reduce erosion has mainly focussed on revegetation and blocking ditches and gullies, rather than reducing erosion from natural soil pipes. However, little is known about the contribution of pipeflow to the fluvial carbon budget of degraded blanket peatlands and whether it is possible to moderate it. In a heavily degraded blanket bog, dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC), and water colour, from two catchments were compared before and after half of the pipe outlets in one catchment were blocked. One blocked pipe was monitored for discharge and water quality both pre‐ and post‐blocking as new pipe outlets had formed around the blocked outlet. Both pre‐ and post‐blocking, maximum concentrations of DOC and POC were markedly higher in pipe‐water than stream‐water, with ratios of 1.2 (pre) and 1.3 (post) for DOC, and 4.8 (pre) and 8.8 (post) for POC, rendering pipe‐to‐stream transfer more effective for DOC than POC due to the deposition of POC close to pipe outlets. The increase in DOC and POC flux post‐blocking in both catchments was near‐identical, suggesting pipe outlet blocking was ineffective in reducing fluvial carbon export from pipe networks. Extrapolation of pipe fluxes to catchment scale showed pipes potentially contribute c. 56% of DOC exported by the stream, and that more POC was produced by pipes than was exported by the stream. Our work highlights that pipes need to be considered when seeking to reduce fluvial carbon export in degraded blanket peatlands.

Molecular identification of Streptomyces sp. isolated from peat land of Palangka Raya, Kalimantan Tengah using 16S rRNA gene sequences analysis

Bacterial identification with 16S rRNA accompanied with cloning techniques to obtain a purer sequence are now highly developed. This research aims to identify Streptomyces bacteria from peatlands in Central Kalimantan as a source of new antibiotics compound using 16srRNA and cloning techniques. Streptomyces sp. isolate was studied in detail and characterized. The morphological and biochemical characterization and tentative identification methods was described following the Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. Further identification and phylogenetic study were done using molecular tools. 16S rRNA helped to determine the species using PCR. Results of tabulation data from BLAST® indicate that isolates 2.1 belong to the genus Streptomyces sp. with the percentage of identity reaching 99.73% with Streptomyces sp. VEL 17 gene for 16S rRNA, partial sequences.

Assessing costs of Indonesian fires and the benefits of restoring peatland

Deforestation and drainage has made Indonesian peatlands susceptible to burning. Large fires occur regularly, destroying agricultural crops and forest, emitting large amounts of CO2 and air pollutants, resulting in adverse health effects. In order to reduce fire, the Indonesian government has committed to restore 2.49 Mha of degraded peatland, with an estimated cost of US$3.2-7 billion. Here we combine fire emissions and land cover data to estimate the 2015 fires, the largest in recent years, resulted in economic losses totalling US$28 billion, whilst the six largest fire events between 2004 and 2015 caused a total of US$93.9 billion in economic losses. We estimate that if restoration had already been completed, the area burned in 2015 would have been reduced by 6%, reducing CO2 emissions by 18%, and PM2.5 emissions by 24%, preventing 12,000 premature mortalities. Peatland restoration could have resulted in economic savings of US$8.4 billion for 2004–2015, making it a cost-effective strategy for reducing the impacts of peatland fires to the environment, climate and human health.

Peatland Community Attitudes towards Conservation and Restoration Programs in Pelalawan, Riau, Indonesia

One of the priority areas for restoration and conservation of peatland after the 2015 fires in Riau is Pelalawan District. The community attitude around peatland will affect the success of conservation and restoration activities carried out by the government together with the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG). This research aims to determine the community attitude around peatland toward conservation and restoration programs using a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. The total number of respondents is 45 communities spread over two subdistricts in Pelalawan, Riau. The location determination was carried out by purposive sampling where two sub-districts were selected, the Bunut sub-district representing the mainland peatland area and the Pelalawan sub-district representing the coastal peatland area. The main results of this research indicate that conservation and restoration of peatland such as the establishment of Fire Concerned Community (MPA), the existence of re-vegetation, canal blocking as form of re-wetting, and re-vitalization of livelihoods in Pelalawan, Riau obtain a positive response from the community along with it, community participation programs organized by the government. This research shows to the public that local peatland communities have awareness and understanding of the importance of protecting peatland area ecosystem.

Peatlands Are More Beneficial if Conserved and Restored than Drained for Monoculture Crops

Peatlands are especially important but fragile tropical landscapes. The importance of peatlands is owing to their ability to 1) sequester a considerable amount of terrestrial carbon, 2) store freshwater, and 3) regulate floods during the rainy season. Nowadays, extensive peatland degradation occurs because of peatland utilization for agriculture purposes, causing severe environmental consequences such as carbon emission, loss of biodiversity, risk of flooding, and peat fire. Meanwhile, local planners and decision makers tend to overlook the long-term strategic function of peatlands for carbon storage and hydrological regulation, preferring peatland utilization for short-term economic benefits. The objective of our study is to quantify the total ecosystem services (except biodiversity) of a tropical peatland landscape in various peat-utilization scenarios to help build awareness among local planners and decision makers on the strategic tradeoff between peatland utilization and restoration. Studies on the total ecosystem services in a tropical peatland landscape involving hydrological regulation are still rare. Based on the net present value calculation, provisioning services, carbon regulation, and hydrological regulation in our study area account for 19, 70, and 11% of the total ecosystem services, respectively. Based on uncertainty analysis, at any combination of the social cost of carbon emission (within a range of USD 52.7–USD 107.4) and discount rate (within a range of 5–10%), the enrichment of peatlands with paludiculture crops (e.g., jelutong) shows superior ecosystem services compared to other peatland-utilization scenarios. Conversely, planting peatlands with monoculture crops, which are associated with peatland drainage, shows a rapid decrease in the total ecosystem services. The fluvial carbon export in our study, which is often neglected in a peatland carbon budget, increases the estimate of the total carbon budget by 8%. Restoring undrained peatlands with paludiculture crops such as jelutong contributes positively to carbon sequestration and potentially reduces carbon emissions by 11%. These quantitative findings can help local planners and decision makers in understanding the tradeoff between the long-term benefits of peatland restoration and the short-term economic benefits of peatland utilization for monoculture crops.

Village Fund for Peatlands Restoration: Study of Community’s Perceived Challenges and Opportunities in Muaro Jambi District

Peatlands conversion to dryland for plantation has caused environmental havoc and is more prone to natural disasters in Indonesia. Community engagements under village administration should be the main strategy for supporting peatlands restoration. Since the new law on villages was enacted in 2014, the village has gained authority and delegated responsibilities from the upper-level government to make rural development decisions in various sectors, including those connected to environmental management, such as peatland restoration. The recognition of authority is followed by the transfer of significant funds, called village funds, from the central government as a form of commitment to undertake the village law. Currently, applied regulations allow community engagement to utilize the village fund for supporting peatland restoration. This study investigated the community's perceptions of village fund utilization for peatland restoration through in-depth interviews and questionnaires with site-level stakeholders that influence village budget allocation-related policies. The investigated aspects included village budgeting and development planning mechanism, the capacity of the community, and rules of district government in supervising the villages. Based on our findings, the identified challenges include the absence of environmental aspects as a part of village development pillars for developing village planning and budgeting, lack of community's environmental-economical nexus knowledge, and lack of district government in supervising village fund utilization and management at the site-level. However, the opportunities to direct the village fund utilization for peatlands restoration are widely open by strengthening the roles of district government to improve village fund governance at the site level.

Opportunities and challenges for land use-based peatland restoration in Kayu Labu Village, South Sumatra, Indonesia

Restoration of degraded peatland has proven to be complex and many activities that have been initiated in recent years have not had a significant impacted on restoring peatland condition. Revitalization activities that have been carried out in several locations have not been effective. Likewise, rewetting actions were often poorly understood by the community. This research aimed to analyze land use-based peatland restoration opportunities and challenges in Kayu Labu village, South Sumatra. Survey methods and interviews with the stakeholders were applied to collect primary data in the field. The results showed that although Kayu Labu has been designated as one of the focus villages for restoration by the Peatland Restoration Agency, the restoration efforts to date have not significantly impacted on people’s lives. The community has not widely known the implementation of the programs, and only those who were directly involved in the activities were aware of the peatland restoration program. Several opportunities are available to support the implementation of land use-based peatland restoration in Kayu Labu: the community has a strong willingness and commitment to restore their peatlands because they have suffered badly from peatland fires in the past. The community also acknowledges the loss of their livelihoods due to peatland degradation, especially for purun craftsmen, gelam collectors, and fishers. There are also opportunities from government and research programs to be implemented in this area to support peatland restoration. However, there are still challenges that must be faced: the increasingly massive expansion of oil palm plantations by clearing the peatlands, the lack of knowledge about peatland, and there is a general feeling from the community that without peatland their lives would be better off because they could grow diverse crops with higher yields. Therefore, capacity building, communication and knowledge enhancement, and partnerships are needed for the success of land use-based peatland restoration in Kayu Labu.

Nature‐based Solutions to tackle climate change and restore biodiversity

Nature‐based Solutions to tackle climate change and restore biodiversity

Market development of local peatland commodities to support successful peatland restoration

Peatland degradation and community livelihood are often driven by market forces. Successful peatland restoration including community livelihood improvement programs is therefore highly correlated with market development of various local peatland commodities that are introduced to replace fire-using farming activities. However, since the development of local peatland commodities is often under subsistence marketplaces, investigation of their market is not attractive and has received little attention. This paper investigates the market structure of the local peatland commodities developed by the local community under peatland livelihood programs using Rapid Market Appraisal (RMA) technique and market structure analysis to quickly draw challenges and opportunities of market development of peatland commodities. We also analyze a business model applied by the local community, particularly their strategy to adapt to market dynamics and to secure market competition. The information is essential to serve as a basis for formulating appropriate interventions needed to develop a more established market of local peatland commodities, which as a consequence will prevent peat forest conversion. The investigation finds that at least three types of peatland commodity market structures are evolving in the research site. Each of them has different challenges and needs different interventions to make the livelihood programs more sustainable. Meanwhile, the local community is more oriented towards sales than the marketing of peatland products. They have not prepared a specific strategy yet to adapt to and win the dynamic market competition. It needs significant efforts to change its business culture if relevant stakeholders intend to develop the local peatland commodity market as a part of peatland restoration and community livelihood improvement programs.

Valuation of rubber farming business in support of food security: a case study in Pulang Pisau Regency

Government efforts to restore peat lands should consider to environmental benefits and considerable economic benefits for local communities. Rubber plant is one of the most cultivated commodities on peat lands and contributes to farmers’ income. Income from rubber business can improve their access to food sources to support food security. To ensure the sustainability of income from this business, this study aims to evaluate the rubber plantation business, map the marketing chain, and determine the contribution to household income. The research location is in Buntoi and Mantaren 1 villages, Pulang Pisau Regency, Central Kalimantan Province. Data are collected through in-depth interviews with farmers and rubber commodity marketers. The business valuation methods use Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Benefit Cost Ratio (B/C Ratio). The results of the analysis show that the rubber plantation business meets the criteria for feasibility with a positive NPV value (cash inflow is greater than cash outflow), IRR is greater than the rate of return, and B/C is above 1. The rubber commodity marketing chain consists of farmers, traders, business groups, and processing industries. Farmers as producers play an essential role in ensuring the sustainability of the products released by considering the environmental aspects of the peat ecosystem characteristics. On the other hand, the processing industry plays an important role as a potential partner who can work directly with farmers/communities to guarantee the products released by the community and increase the added value of the products. Income from the rubber business has an important role in household income as well as supporting economic access to food.

Restoration of Degraded Tropical Peatland in Indonesia: A Review

Tropical peatlands are fragile ecosystems with an important role in conserving biodiversity, water quality and availability, preventing floods, soil intrusion, erosion and sedimentation, and providing a livelihood for people. However, due to illegal logging, fire and conversion into other land use, the peatlands in Indonesia are under serious threat. Efforts to restore Indonesia’s tropical peatlands have been accelerated by the establishment of the Peatland Restoration Agency in early 2016. The restoration action policy includes the rewetting, revegetation and revitalisation of local livelihood (known as the 3Rs). This paper summarises the regulatory, institutional and planning aspects of peatland restoration, in addition to the implementation of the 3Rs in Indonesia, including failures, success stories, and the criteria and indicators for the success of peatland restoration.

Developing sustainable and profitable solutions for peatland restoration

Over the past decades, a large area of peat swamp forests in Indonesia has been cleared of the original forest cover and developed as agricultural lands. Several important issues are associated with the clearing and drainage of peat forest areas, including loss of biodiversity, increased emission of Green House Gases (GHGs), and smoke/haze pollution. Moreover, the development of large-scale oil palm plantations did not always improve local livelihoods. We describe how the restoration of degraded peat areas through paludiculture and inclusive value chains development could result in sustainable livelihoods and climate-resilient peat areas in Indonesia. We illustrate this by describing business cases of seven valuable native peat swamp forest species which could provide income for local forest communities. An analysis of the sago value chain shows that sago cultivation has a positive contribution in providing economic benefits to all actors, including local farmers, although improvements could be made for better value sharing. Paludiculture has important environmental benefits in comparison to existing drainage-based peat cultivation systems. The combination of environmental and economic benefits is an important incentive to develop the paludiculture system further to improve current peat management systems and assist further peat restoration in Indonesia. The development and implementation of paludiculture systems, particularly species selection, should have more community participation to ensure the sustainable restoration of degraded peat areas.

The Potential of Central Kalimantan’s Local Orchid as Material Source for Genetic Improvement

Central Kalimantan Province with total area of 15.380.000 ha or about 7.93 % of Indonesian areas consists of coastal regions and forest areas has potential biodiversity such as Orchidaceae. This region has various type of lands involving peat lands, swamplands with acid sulphate soils and up lands. The existence of orchid in Central Kalimantan’s forest can be found scattered in forest areas with high diversity life, form and uses. The methodology used include exploration and collection and they were conducted at six districts, i.e. East Barito, South Barito, North Barito, East Kotawaringin and Murung Raya, starting from March 2016 until December 2018. The objective of this study was as follows: (1). The exploration process, (2). The ex-situ and in-situ conservation, (3). The characterization process, (4). The documentation process. The results of these activities shown that there are several ex situ collection of 8 accessions of medicinal plants that can be used as a source of material for genetic improvement. The orchid plant’s conservation can be conducted through in-situ and or ex-situ. In-situ conservation can be conducted through managing forest areas as the natural habitat of the material for genetic improvement, while for ex-situ conservation, it can be managed outside of the native habitats. Appropriate utilization and research activities are important in conservation of the material for genetic improvement in Central Kalimantan

THE PEATLAND RESTORATION AGENCY’S ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION PROGRAM IN ACHIEVING THE TRANSBOUNDARY HAZE-FREE ASEAN 2020 IN RIAU PROVINCE

This study analyses the implementation of good governance principles for the economic revitalization program under the supervision of Riau Province’s Badan Restorasi Gambut (Peatland Restoration Agency). One of the aims of this program is to support the haze-free ASEAN 2020 roadmap. Riau province is an area prone to forest fire disasters. Its peatland area, which is larger than Malaysia’s total peatlands, have a very high potential for damage due to forest fires. To mitigate the damages, BRG initiated the 3R program: Rewetting, Revegetation, and Revitalization. What makes this topic interesting is BRG emphasizes the aspects of economic empowerment of local communities to prevent further forest and peatland damages. To assess the implementation of BRG’s program, our research team conducted several interviews with representatives from Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry, NGOs, academics, farmers, and villages’ facilitators who assisted local communities that received the BRG’s assistance packages. Our study shows that BRG’s economic revitalization program had succeeded in creating small scale economic activities such as honey industry, pineapple farming, and catfish farming. However, the ineffective coordination and communication between BRG and the local communities had prevented them from constructing an effective method to prevent future forest fires.

Economic ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION PROGRAM in ACHIEVING THE HAZE-FREE ASEAN TARGET 2020 by THE RIAU PROVINCE’S PEATLAND RESTORATION AGENCY

This study analyses the implementation of good governance principles for the economic revitalization program under Riau Province’s Badan Restorasi Gambut (Peatland Restoration Agency) supervision. One of the aims of this program is to support the haze-free ASEAN 2020 roadmap. Riau province is an area prone to forest fire disasters. Its peatland area, which is twice as large as Malaysia’s peatland, have a very high potential for damage due to forest fires. To mitigate the damages, BRG initiated the 3R program: Rewetting, Revegetation, and Revitalization. What makes this topic interesting is BRG emphasizes the aspects of economic empowerment of local communities to prevent further forest and peatland damages. To assess the implementation of BRG’s program, our research team conducted several interviews with representatives from Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry, NGOs, academics, farmers, and villages’ facilitators who assisted local communities that received the BRG’s assistance packages. Our study shows that BRG’s economic revitalization program had succeeded in creating small scale economic activities such as honey industry, pineapple farming, and catfish farming. However, the ineffective coordination and communication between BRG and the local communities had prevented them from constructing an effective method to prevent future forest fires.

Climate change mitigation on tropical peatlands: A triple burden for smallholder farmers in Indonesia

The agricultural use and conversion of tropical peatlands is considered a major source of land-based greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, the protection and restoration of tropical peatlands has recently turned into an important strategy to mitigate global climate change. Little research exists that has investigated the impacts and dynamics that such climate mitigation efforts evoke in local communities living in and around peatlands. We present insights on this from Sumatra, Indonesia and use a climate justice lens to evaluate local outcomes. We show how an increasingly transnational network of state and non-state actors has become involved in developing new laws, policy programs and land-use agreements on Sumatra’s coastal peatlands, aiming at supposedly win–win low-carbon development pathways. We argue that such efforts are open to much of the same criticism that has been raised regarding previous policies and projects aimed at reducing GHGE from deforestation and forest degradation. These projects disregard local perspectives on development, fail to deliver the promised benefits and, through a reconfiguration of local land-use rights, reduce the capabilities of smallholder farmers to benefit from their land. In sum, our analysis suggests that recent policies and projects aimed at mitigating GHGE from tropical peatlands contribute to a redistribution of the global climate mitigation burden onto smallholder farmers in Indonesia. This occurs through their threefold assignment to protect forests, prevent fires and help restore degraded peatlands.