Rubber Plantations Research Articles

Hydrological function of rewetted peatlands linked to saturated hydraulic conductivity in Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Hydrological function of rewetted peatlands linked to saturated hydraulic conductivity in Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Metals Accumulation of Tropical Shrub Melastoma malabathricum L. (Melastomataceae) Populations and Their Relation To Soil Edaphic Factor

Melastoma malabathricum L. (Melastomataceae) is a widely distributed tropical shrub that grows in Southeast Asia. Recent research found that M. malabathricum has a bioremediatory potential that can accumulate high concentrations of toxic metals such as Al, Pb, As, and Cr. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the metal hyperaccumulation in M. malabathricum from various populations and their relation to soil edaphic factors. We collected mature leaves and soils of M. malabathricum from 15 different populations in Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, and Pahang in Peninsular Malaysia. These 15 populations consist of lowland forests, dump sites, riparian, oil palm and rubber plantations, paddy fields, and mining sites. We found that M. malabathricum accumulated high concentrations of Al (3.45±1.58 to 8.697±1.61 mg g-1) followed by Fe (1.02±0.02 to 1.07±0.04 mg g-1), Pb (0.013±0.001 to 0.016±0.001 mg g-1), As (0.008±0.005 to 0.23±0.004 mg g-1), and Cr (0.005±0.0003 to 0.02±0.01 mg g-1). The highest concentration of soil Al was 85.95±5.00 mg g-1, Fe with 69.960±7.47mg g-1, Pb with 0.192±0.03 mg g-1, As with 0.156±0.06 mg g-1 and Cr with 0.133±0.03 mg g-1. We found no significant association between high foliar metal concentrations of the metals (Al, Pb, As & Cr) with the soil chemical properties but some soil metal elements were intercorrelated with foliar metal concentrations. Understanding the potential of M. malabathricum in accumulating high levels of metal elements, provides useful information for phytoremediation works. Further research is required to investigate the mechanism uptake and tolerance of heavy metals in M. malabathricum.

Design Development and Fabrication of Soil Drilling Machine for Plants – Review

Abstract: Today’s era is marching towards the rapid growth of all sectors including the plantation of trees to a large extent and the agricultural sector. Conventionally digging deep holes or larger diameter holes requires more work. So to reduce these losses we are planning to design a soil drilling machine for the plantation. A soil drilling machine is used to reduce the man's work and time for digging holes. These holes can be used for fixing engines and different plantations such as rubber plants, coconut, sugar cane, etc. The Project aims to Design Development and Fabrication of Soil Drilling Machine for plants which would be modified to overcome all the shortcomings of the existing Digging Machine. The project will be useful in providing a solution for a lowcost and comparatively safe auger that can be completely used by one person. This project will be provided with a safe and costefficient alternative to use for plantation or other purposes. This project will help understand the shortcomings of manual and power-operated Digging machines and provide possible solutions. Hence, this project will reduce the chances of auger-related injuries and also increase the stability and usability of the same. This project will help people to use Soil Drilling Machines comfortably and work will be done smoothly and efficiently. Our project aims to reduce the cost of the machine and make it portable for easy carrying. So due to these reasons, we are using a petrol engine instead of a diesel engine and we attach a steel frame to it to make it portable. This project involves the design and fabrication of a soil drilling machine. The design of the soil drilling machine is done by SOLIDWORKS and the fabrication is completed employing various fabrication techniques

Preliminary Study of The Utilization of Belimbing Wuluh (Averrhoa bilimbi L.) Extract as A Coagulant of Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.) Latex

Coagulants are commonly used in rubber plantations to coagulate latex. This study aims to determine the effect of incubation time and dose of starfruit extract on coagulation speed, total solid content (TSC), and weight loss of the resulting coagulum. The study was carried out at the Sungei Putih Research Unit, Indonesian Rubber Research Institute in September – October 2023. A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was applied with two treatments, namely, the incubation period for the extract (A) which consisted of three levels (0 days (A1), 2 days (A2), and 4 days (A3)) and the extract dose (B) consisting of three levels (3 ml (B1), 6 ml (B2), and 9 ml per 20 ml latex (B3)). Each treatment combination was repeated three times. The results indicated that the degree of acidity (pH) of starfruit extract without incubation was around 2.8. After incubation for 2 days, the pH decreased to 2.7, and after 4 days to pH 2.5. The fastest coagulation was obtained in treatment A3B3 for 2.03 minutes after mixing, while the longest was in treatment A1B1 for 7.07 minutes. The highest coagulum TSC was obtained in the A3B1 treatment at 50.30%, while the lowest was in the A2B3 treatment at 27.47%. The highest level of weight loss was found in the A2B2 treatment at 36.80%, while the lowest was in the A3B3 treatment at 23.01%. The use of high doses of starfruit extract can coagulate latex in a short time with low weight loss; thus, it can be used as an organic coagulant.

Transformation scenarios towards multifunctional landscapes: A multi-criteria land-use allocation model applied to Jambi Province, Indonesia

In tropical regions, shifting from forests and traditional agroforestry to intensive plantations generates conflicts between human welfare (farmers’ demands and societal needs) and environmental protection. Achieving sustainability in this transformation will inevitably involve trade-offs between multiple ecological and socioeconomic functions. To address these trade-offs, our study used a new methodological approach allowing the identification of transformation scenarios, including theoretical landscape compositions that satisfy multiple ecological functions (i.e., structural complexity, microclimatic conditions, organic carbon in plant biomass, soil organic carbon and nutrient leaching losses), and farmers needs (i.e., labor and input requirements, total income to land, and return to land and labor) while accounting for the uncertain provision of these functions and having an actual potential for adoption by farmers. We combined a robust, multi-objective optimization approach with an iterative search algorithm allowing the identification of ecological and socioeconomic functions that best explain current land-use decisions. The model then optimized the theoretical land-use composition that satisfied multiple ecological and socioeconomic functions. Between these ends, we simulated transformation scenarios reflecting the transition from current land-use composition towards a normative multifunctional optimum. These transformation scenarios involve increasing the number of optimized socioeconomic or ecological functions, leading to higher functional richness (i.e., number of functions). We applied this method to smallholder farms in the Jambi Province, Indonesia, where traditional rubber agroforestry, rubber plantations, and oil palm plantations are the main land-use systems. Given the currently practiced land-use systems, our study revealed short-term returns to land as the principal factor in explaining current land-use decisions. Fostering an alternative composition that satisfies additional socioeconomic functions would require minor changes (“low-hanging fruits”). However, satisfying even a single ecological indicator (e.g., reduction of nutrient leaching losses) would demand substantial changes in the current land-use composition (“moonshot”). This would inevitably lead to a profit decline, underscoring the need for incentives if the societal goal is to establish multifunctional agricultural landscapes. With many oil palm plantations nearing the end of their production cycles in the Jambi province, there is a unique window of opportunity to transform agricultural landscapes.

Effects of the conversion of natural tropical rainforest to monoculture rubber plantations on soil hydrological processes

Abstract Rubber plantations have increased significantly under unprecedented economic growth in tropical areas, which leads to soil degradation and thereby alters soil hydrological processes. However, our understanding of how forest conversion affects soil hydrological processes remains unclear. Here, we collected soil samples from secondary forests (SF) and rubber plantations (RP) to determine the soil hydrological characteristics. We found the topsoil (0–20 cm) water retention in SF was higher than that of RP but displayed the contrast pattern in a deeper soil layer (20–60 cm). Meanwhile, the soil infiltration rates among the two vegetation types decreased significantly with infiltration time, with higher stable soil infiltration rates in SF than those in RP. Moreover, soil properties were also impacted by the forest conversion, such as the topsoil capillary porosity (CP) and total porosity (TP) in SF were higher than those of RP but contrasted in a deep soil layer. In comparison, the topsoil bulk density (BD) in SF was lower than that of RP, but contrasted in the deep soil layer and reached a significant level in the 0–10 and 40–50 cm (P < 0.05). Overall, the soil water retention was mainly determined by the CP, which could explain 31.56% of the total variance in soil water retention, followed by TP (26.57%) and soil BD (26.47%), whereas soil texture exerts a weak effect on soil water retention. Therefore, we can conclude that the conversion of tropical rainforest into rubber plantations may accelerate soil erosion owing to its lower topsoil water retention and soil infiltration rates.

Understanding the transition of community land use from shifting cultivation to cash cropping in southern Tanintharyi, Myanmar

Abstract Many tropical landscapes have experienced the loss of traditional cultivation practices as they have transitioned to other land use systems. The Tanintharyi Region of southern Myanmar is a landscape experiencing a rapid land use regime shift from traditional subsistence farming to permanent cash crop agriculture. Despite previous research in this region on the expansion of large‐scale agribusiness, such as oil palm and rubber plantations, little is known about how the small‐scale shifting cultivation system practiced by the local Karen ethnic people in Tanintharyi has changed over recent decades or the underlying reasons for this transition. Our study explores this transition process and its drivers from a social and land system change perspective in four villages of Bokpyin Township in Tanintharyi. We investigated the drivers of land cover and land use change by collecting information through focus groups and individual interviews with community members who previously practised shifting cultivation. We also quantified the overall change in land cover and land use through remote sensing analysis of Landsat 8 (2020) and declassified KH‐9 satellite imagery (1976). Prior to a period of civil war in the 1980s, cultivators used a traditional ‘slash‐and‐burn’ agricultural system for subsistence use. The present land use system is dominated by permanent betel nut cultivation, which represents the primary income source for farming households. The reported drivers of the transition to cash crop farming are greater income potential and livelihood security, risk of losing fallow land due to the needs for new cultivation areas for in‐migration and new centralized land use policies and administration after the national ceasefire agreement in 2012. The documented change in land use systems has been paired with a concurrent net loss of forest that, given the conflicted governance within the landscape, seems likely to continue without additional land use planning efforts. Our study contributes to an increased understanding of changes in shifting cultivation systems that are being documented globally. Furthermore, our example of combining qualitative interviews with analysis of historical satellite imagery to detect and explain land use regime shifts can serve as a model for future work in different landscapes. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Analisis Kandungan Hara N, P, dan K pada Perbedaan Lahan yang Ditanami Karet dan Kelapa Sawit

The general obstacles in cultivating rubber and oil palm are soil acidity and limited availability of nutrients, especially N, P, and K. These nutrients play an important role in the growth of rubber and oil palm plants. Knowing the nutrient content is necessary to be able to determine the management that needs to be carried out. The objective of this study is to determine differences in the nutrient content of N, P, and K on various lands planted with rubber and oil palm plants. Soil sample analysis was conducted in the laboratory for available N, available P, and available K. To determine differences in land use for the elements N, P and K, data were analyzed using an unpaired two sample t test. The results showed differences in available K and available P levels between the two land types, while no differences were observed in N availability between the two land types. This variation may be caused by differences in land management practices.

Four new species of Dothideomycetes (Ascomycota) from Pará Rubber (Heveabrasiliensis) in Yunnan Province, China.

The tropical areas in southern and south-western Yunnan are rich in fungal diversity. Additionally, the diversity of seed flora in Yunnan Province is higher than in other regions in China and the abundant endemic species of woody plants provide favourable substrates for fungi. Rubber plantations in Yunnan Province are distributed over a large area, especially in Xishuangbanna. During a survey of rubber-associated fungi in Yunnan Province, China, dead rubber branches with fungal fruiting bodies were collected. Morphological characteristics and multigene phylogenetic analyses (ITS, LSU, SSU, rpb2 and tef1-α) revealed four distinct new species, described herein as Melomastiapuerensis, Nigrogranalincangensis, Pseudochaetosphaeronemalincangensis and Pseudochaetosphaeronemaxishuangbannaensis. Detailed descriptions, illustrations and phylogenetic trees are provided to show the taxonomic placements of these new species.

The Influence of Climate Change on Rainfall and Rainy Days for Rubber Production of Kusen Clone in Rambang District, Muara Enim Regency

Extreme rainfall impacts rubber production, reducing effective tapping days and cumulative annual output and having a wide-ranging effect on rubber crop cultivation. This study aimed to find out how rainfall and rainy days affected the rubber production of the Kusen clone in Muara Enim Regency’s Rambang District. The study was conducted on a rubber plantation of Kusen clone, which has an area of 1 ha. The initial stage in analyzing the impact of climate change on Kusen clone rubber production in Rambang District, Muara Enim Regency, was identifying the independent and dependent variables. The T-test was conducted to see whether each independent variable partially has a significant effect on the dependent variable. Rubber production has fallen year after year, with an average of 205.12 kg/ha in 2019 during the first year of tapping and 118.43 in 2023. The coefficient value (r) shows a 27.2% (sufficient correlation) magnitude association between the rainfall and rainy-day variables and the rubber productivity variable of the Kusen clone. In Correlation test results, rainfall and rainy days are strongly associated with producing Kusen clone rubber, as demonstrated by the correlation analysis value of 0.846. Regression research showed that rainfall and rainy days had a statistically insignificant effect on rubber production on the rubber clone Kusen in Rambang District, Muara Enim Regency.

Expert System for Diagnosing Diseases in Rubber Plants using the Forward Chaining and Dampster Shafer Methods

Expert System for Diagnosing Diseases in Rubber Plants using the Forward Chaining and Dampster Shafer Methods

HISTÓRIA ORAL, FIGURAÇÃO E INTERPRETAÇÃO DO SERINGUEIRO: UMA ANÁLISE DA REPRESENTÇÃO SIMBÓLICA PRESENTE NA PRAÇA DOS SERINGUEIROS, EM PORTO VELHO.

The present study aims to present an analytical sketch about the interpretative and polysemic possibility of the figure of the rubber tapper. In this sense, the general objective is to analyze how the representation of the rubber tapper is transformed into symbols and historical meanings in a square in Porto Velho. The specific objectives are guided by presenting the implicit discourses of the symbolic representation constant in the rubber tappers’ square; and describe how the statue of the rubber tapper present in the square translates the history of the rubber plantation as a spatial and temporal mark of discourse and identity; The theoretical foundation will be subsidized, mainly, by Joutard (2000) and Caldas (1997), regarding Oral History. Bakhtin (2003) about text and discourse, and Nora (1993), about symbols and Memory of places. In the area of methodology, the research was developed via bibliographical research, whose nature of the texts and literature it is possible to locate the premises that meet the scope and object of the study. As a result, it can be inferred that there are a variety of possibilities for interpreting the rubber tapper square, with regard to the representative symbols marked by the rubber tapper statue. Thus, it was concluded that what has already been written about the story told via oral history of the rubber tappers still remain as a symbol of social resistance and identity of the historical character that was created throughout the period of rubber extraction in the Amazon.

Analysis of 10-m Sentinel-2 imagery and a re-normalization approach reveals a declining trend in the latest rubber plantations in Xishuangbanna

Natural rubber is one of the four main raw materials of industry and a globally important strategic material. Rubber plantations with agroforestry attributes have undergone rapid growth in the northern part of mainland Southeast Asia (including Xishuangbanna) since the 1990s, leading to a series of eco-environmental effects on biological diversity, climate change, carbon stocks, and hydrological processes. Accurate, detailed, and updated spatial information on rubber plantations, therefore, is fundamental for developing efficient management strategies. Currently, the booming rubber plantations are being experienced new changes in Xishuangbanna. The commonly used coarser spatial resolution satellite data (e.g., 250-m MODIS and/or 30-m Landsat) have limited applications because most plantations are often small and scattered, especially in the mountainous areas. Here, we developed a straightforward and effective re-normalization of red green normalized difference vegetation index (ReNDI) approach based on finer resolution (10-m) Sentinel-2 imagery, and then mapped the first annual 10-m rubber plantations in the entire Xishuangbanna during 2018–2021. Interestingly, rubber plots no longer expanded as rapidly as in past decades and even decreased slightly. The latest area of rubber plantations was 2514.7 km2, a decrease of 31.9 km2 comparing since 2018, with an average overall accuracy and kappa coefficient of four-year reached up to 95.37 % and 0.90, respectively. Among them, Jinghong city and Menghai county increased by 52.4 km2 and 14.8 km2 respectively, and Mengla county decreased by 99.1 km2. The main area of rubber expansion was around the Jinghong city, where rubber was initially planted. More importantly, owing to pursuing increased economic benefits and requirements of environmental protection, a considerable portion of the rubber encroachment has disappeared, particularly near roads and rivers. Our phenology-based ReNDI algorithm not only enriches the remotely-sensed methods for other industrial plantations mapping, but also provides a new chance to understanding the current patterns of rubber plantations (i.e., increase and decrease), which will contributed to rational planting planning and agroforestry management in the future, especially in the tropics.

INCOME ANALYSIS OF MAIZE FARMERS ON RUBBER PLANTATION HIATEN LAND UTILIZATION SUNGEI PUTIH RESEARCH UNIT

Sungei Putih Research Unit is an area located in Galang District, Deliserdang Regency which has a rubber plantation sector. The vacant land found in rubber plantations in this area is used by the community, one of which is to grow corn. The purpose of this research is to increase the income of corn farmers through the use of land between rubber plantations in Sungei Putih Research Unit and to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of corn farming by utilizing land using the R/C Ratio and ROI. This research was conducted at Sungei Putih Research Unit, Galang District, Deli Serdang Regency using the Saturated Sampling method to select 9 farmers who intercropped rubber with corn as research samples. To find out whether the business is profitable or not, production costs and income are calculated and then analyzed using the R/C Ratio and ROI, and the income contribution is calculated. The results showed that the R/C ratio was 2.36 > 1, which means that every production cost of Rp. 1,000 will generate income of Rp. 2,360 for farmers so that corn farming on rubber plantations between Sungei Putih Research Unit is profitable. The ROI value of 36.66% indicates that farming has a profitable profit rate, and a revenue contribution of 69.39% indicates that corn farming on rubber plantation land makes a good contribution to the total income of farmers. To increase the maximum income, it is recommended that farmers take good care of their corn plants so that they are free from pests and diseases.

The large-scale expansion of rubber plantations in southern India: major impacts and the changing nature of drivers

This study investigates the major environmental and socio-economic impacts of an increase in the area of rubber plantations and the changing patterns of drivers of land use changes. Using a combination of geospatial techniques and socio-economic methods, we mainly analyzed the rate of increase in area under rubber plantations, the major impacts of land use changes, and the changing drivers of land use changes. Our results show that the area under rubber plantations has increased significantly within the study area, with the area under rubber plantations increasing from 30 to 74% of the total area within five decades. Impact assessment of land use changes based on household surveys showed significant improvement in the socio-economic conditions of the farmers, however, at the expense of severe environmental degradation. Our results also indicate that while areas under rubber plantations continue to increase, the drivers of land use changes have changed over time. Furthermore, it has been observed that in the past, many interventions prioritized social and economic development and placed less emphasis on the ecological stability of the region. Perceptions of farmers revealed that the effects of ecological fragility already affected the economic robustness of the whole area. Therefore, we conclude that government interventions to support additional rubber cultivation should also focus on ecosystem stabilization in order to minimize the risk of an ecological catastrophe that would significantly affect the economic prosperity of the region.

Toward soil carbon storage: The influence of parent material and vegetation on profile-scale microbial community structure and necromass accumulation

Soil microbial communities play a crucial role in the accumulation and stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC) through complex processes involving plant residue transformation and mineral interactions. These processes are influenced by plant inputs and modulated by soil properties that are mostly determined by the parent material. However, our understanding is limited regarding the manner in which vegetation and parent material affect microbial community structure, necromass accumulation, and their subsequent impact on SOC storage. To bridge this knowledge gap, we conducted an in-depth investigation focusing on the top-down influence of vegetation type and the bottom-up effect of parent material on microbial-mediated carbon transformation across soil profiles in a tropical region. Our study encompassed 42 sites on three parent materials (basalt, granite, and marine sediments) and four vegetation types (rubber, banana, areca plantations and uncultivated grassland). Soil samples were collected at 0–20, 20–40, 40–80, and 80–100 cm depth. Microbial community structure and necromass were quantified using microbial biomarkers of phospholipid fatty acids and amino sugars, respectively. In rubber plantations, we observed a trend toward higher microbial biomass that, though not significant when compared to other vegetation types, transformed to a significantly higher accumulation of microbial necromass. This increase in microbial necromass was linked to the accumulation of SOC facilitated by the presence of clay size minerals in clayey soils developed from basalt. In particular, basaltic soils were dominated by bacteria, which facilitated the accumulation of bacterial necromass that significantly bolstered its contribution to SOC. In contrast, in sandier soils developed from granite and marine sediments, fungal communities and necromass dominated due to the propensity of fungi for coarser soil environments. Overall, the main impact of vegetation on microbial communities and necromass accumulation was primarily demonstrated for the topsoil. Differences in soil texture arising from different parent materials exert significant effects on the fungal-to bacterial-biomass and necromass ratios, consequently influencing the contribution of fungal and bacterial necromass carbon to SOC across soil profiles. Our study underscores the pivotal role of parent material in governing tropical profile-scale soil carbon storage by shaping the structure of microbial communities and influencing the retention of microbial necromass.

Qualities of Soil Upper Layers Under Rubber Plantation and Various Previous Soil Histories in Zépréguhé (Daloa, west-central Côte d'Ivoire)

Qualities of Soil Upper Layers Under Rubber Plantation and Various Previous Soil Histories in Zépréguhé (Daloa, west-central Côte d'Ivoire)

Investigating Drivers Impacting Carbon Stock and Carbon Offset in a Large-Scale Rubber Plantation in the Middle South of Thailand.

A large-scale rubber plantation in Southern Thailand is expected to capture a significant amount of carbon dioxide from emissions through carbon sinks in the vegetation and soil. The goal of this research is to create a carbon offset assessment for rubber plantations lasting for 30 years using a voluntary market contract approach. To evaluate the area of large-scale rubber plantations, this study evaluated major growing regions in five provinces in the middle-south region of Thailand (Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Satun and Trang) using an integrated RS-GIS technique that incorporated biomass allometric equations, soil series databases, and object-based classification. The classification of rubber plantation areas and the mapping of rubber stand ages were conducted to estimate the above-ground biomass of the rubber tree. Texture analysis was used in the rubber classification process, and normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) was combined with texture analysis to separate vegetation areas from other land cover. Four groups of varying ages (1-6, 7-13, 14-20 and 21-30 years old) were evaluated for their capacity to generate carbon offsets. The equations of voluntary market contract revenue according to the contract method of the CCX were applied for this case study. This evaluation was used to estimate their annual value, total and net incomes in the carbon market price regarding the RGGI Allowance (RGA). Carbon offset income was then used to estimate the potential income (over a 30-year period) of the life of the contract. The results showed that the carbon stock potential of rubber plantations depended on the age of the trees and the soil carbon stock. The total carbon stock in the rubber plantations varied from 249.73 to 301.48 Mg C/ha (or equivalently 916.49 to 1,106.44 Mg CO2e/ha). Furthermore, the potential net income of the contract was estimated to be between USD5,378.32 and USD5,930.38 Mg CO2e/ha over a 30-year period according to the voluntary market contract revenue. These results suggest that the large agricultural land plot policy could create opportunities for carbon offsetting. The policy of large-scale rubber areas could be used as a tool and mechanism for farmers who are considering participating in carbon-crediting mechanisms. Then, farmers could use voluntary market contracts as a guide and foundation for their decision-making. The carbon offset credit strategy could assist Thailand in achieving its climate goals of transitioning to a low-carbon agriculture sector.

Expanding Rubber Plantation Degrades Biodiversity and Worsen Local Environment

The rapid growth of rubber plantations in India exacerbates traditional agriculture and degrades biodiversity. Rubber is a cash crop, earns a remarkable income for the farmer and boosts the economy in the world market. The North Eastern states of India produce rubber successfully due to favorable atmosphere and climatic conditions. This region occupies a large area of natural forest and a hotspot of biodiversity. In the recent past, people shifted their occupation to rubber plantations by sacrificing forests and biodiversity. A case study in South Tripura, N-E state of India, highlighted the story behind environmental degradation through rubber plantations. A Likert scale analysis followed by a logistic regression tried to find out the negative impact of rubber plantations.

Rubber plantation size and global rubber price are linked to forest loss and degradation in Jambi, Sumatra

AbstractNatural rubber cultivation is one of the main drivers of tropical deforestation and biodiversity loss. This study examines regulatory and socio‐economic conditions that increase the susceptibility of rubber plantations to deforestation and degradation, aiming to support zero‐deforestation pledges and sustainability commitments made by the natural rubber industry. By combining bottom‐up socio‐economic survey data from rubber smallholder farmers in Indonesia with top‐down spatial datasets on forest loss and degradation, this study identifies factors associated with deforestation, tree cover loss, and degradation of high‐risk plantations. In Jambi Province, Indonesia, from 1991 to 2018, the overall tree cover loss in areas adjacent to rubber plantations was positively correlated to plantation size, remoteness (travel time to cities), and distance to the nearest protected areas, indicating that larger, remotely located plantations likely expanded more into forests between 2000 and 2018. Similarly, tropical forest degradation was positively associated with plantation size, travel time to cities, and distance to protected areas. A higher rubber price in the preceding year correlated with increased annual deforestation and forest degradation, whereas lower prices had the opposite effect. These results suggest that monitoring price changes and identifying plantations that are near non‐protected forest frontiers could enable early detection and potential mitigation of deforestation threats.