Chapter 6
Natural Capital-Based Societies
in the Tropics
Mitsuru Osaki, Nobuyuki Tsuji, Tsuyoshi Kato, Manabu D. Yamanaka,
Albertus Sulaiman, Sisva Silsigia, and Rahmawati I. Wetadewi
Abstract As the tropics are exposed to large amounts of solar radiation, solar
energy amelioration is highly important in tropical ecosystems. Among mechanisms
of high solar energy amelioration, the water cycle is the first function that removes
solar radiation energy in the form of latent heat through evaporation at the sea
surface and evapotranspiration from forests. The carbon cycle is the second function
as it fixes solar radiation energy into carbohydrates in plants (and forests) through
photosynthesis. In addition, forests have a function in the water–carbon linkage, and
it is assumed that the water–TREE–carbon linkage is a key function in the tropics,
where a TREE (a simplified forest function) is a bioapparatus that serves as natural
capital. The TREE model includes functions such as solar panels (leaves), batteries
(stems), air conditioning (evapotranspiration), carbon sequestration (biochar), fertilizer production (N 2 fixation), water dams (water reserves in the soil), and soil
conservation (through the application of organic matter).
As the water–plant–carbon linkage depends on solar energy input, the natural
ecosystems in which this system occurs are defined as “Sun Harvesting Ecosystems,” and the human societies that depend on these ecosystems are defined as
“Harvesting Sun Societies.”
M. Osaki (*)
Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
e-mail: mosaki@chem.agr.hokudai.ac.jp
N. Tsuji
Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, University of Malaysia Sabah, Sabah, Malaysia
T. Kato · S. Silsigia
P.T. Wana Subur Lestari, and P.T. Mayangkara Tanaman Industri, Jakarta, Indonesia
M. D. Yamanaka
Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHEN), Kyoto, Japan
A. Sulaiman
Indonesian Institute of Sciences-LIPI, Bogor, Indonesia
R. I. Wetadewi
Peatland Restoration Agency, Menteng, Jakarta, Indonesia
e-mail: rahmawatiw@unops.org
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Osaki et al. (eds.), Tropical Peatland Eco-management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4654-3_6
197
Natural Capital-Based Societies
in the Tropics
Mitsuru Osaki, Nobuyuki Tsuji, Tsuyoshi Kato, Manabu D. Yamanaka,
Albertus Sulaiman, Sisva Silsigia, and Rahmawati I. Wetadewi
Abstract As the tropics are exposed to large amounts of solar radiation, solar
energy amelioration is highly important in tropical ecosystems. Among mechanisms
of high solar energy amelioration, the water cycle is the first function that removes
solar radiation energy in the form of latent heat through evaporation at the sea
surface and evapotranspiration from forests. The carbon cycle is the second function
as it fixes solar radiation energy into carbohydrates in plants (and forests) through
photosynthesis. In addition, forests have a function in the water–carbon linkage, and
it is assumed that the water–TREE–carbon linkage is a key function in the tropics,
where a TREE (a simplified forest function) is a bioapparatus that serves as natural
capital. The TREE model includes functions such as solar panels (leaves), batteries
(stems), air conditioning (evapotranspiration), carbon sequestration (biochar), fertilizer production (N 2 fixation), water dams (water reserves in the soil), and soil
conservation (through the application of organic matter).
As the water–plant–carbon linkage depends on solar energy input, the natural
ecosystems in which this system occurs are defined as “Sun Harvesting Ecosystems,” and the human societies that depend on these ecosystems are defined as
“Harvesting Sun Societies.”
M. Osaki (*)
Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
e-mail: mosaki@chem.agr.hokudai.ac.jp
N. Tsuji
Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, University of Malaysia Sabah, Sabah, Malaysia
T. Kato · S. Silsigia
P.T. Wana Subur Lestari, and P.T. Mayangkara Tanaman Industri, Jakarta, Indonesia
M. D. Yamanaka
Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHEN), Kyoto, Japan
A. Sulaiman
Indonesian Institute of Sciences-LIPI, Bogor, Indonesia
R. I. Wetadewi
Peatland Restoration Agency, Menteng, Jakarta, Indonesia
e-mail: rahmawatiw@unops.org
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Osaki et al. (eds.), Tropical Peatland Eco-management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4654-3_6
197