For pulp production, tree species used need to be fast-growing, and tolerant of
direct sunlight and fluctuations in water availability. In addition, they should have
good pulping properties including a suitably long fiber length, little or no latex, low
to moderate ash content, and a suitable growth form (e.g., not multi-stemmed). In
lowland PSFs, 166 tree species (12.4% of total PSF flora) are pioneer species or
species with characteristics of those grown in secondary habitats (Giesen et al.
2018). When species with latex or unsuitable growth forms are removed from the
list, the 129 species remaining are potentially suitable, but their pulping properties
and actual growth rates need to be assessed. For some species this may already be
known (e.g., past trials by pulp companies or forestry research agencies), but for
many species this will need to be tried and tested. Promising species can then be
tested in trials under different regimes in terms of planting densities, addition of
mycorrhiza, initial fertilizer application, and so on. Following on from this, a smaller
number can then be taken on the road to domestication as a sustainable alternative to
Acacia crassicarpa on peatland.
In 2016 an Indonesian pulp and paper company established an initial shortlist of
nine promising species that they consider suitable for testing: Campnosperma
coriaceum, Combretocarpus rotundatus, Cratoxylum arborescens, Endospermum
diadenum, Lophopetalum multinervium, Melaleuca cajuputi, Shorea balangeran,
Lophostemon sp., and Nauclea subdita (APP 2017). A further promising species is
Falcataria moluccana (Miq.) Barneby and J.W.Grimes,
1 a (very) fast-growing
leguminous tree species locally known as sengon and widely cultivated on mineral
soils in Indonesia. It is native to the Moluccas, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and Solomon Islands, but is now widely planted throughout the humid
tropics. In Java, where it is cultivated on mineral soils, it is widely used in pulp
and paper production. The species generally prefers well drained soils and has been
tried on drained peatland (e.g., in South Sumatra plantation trials, personal observation, 2018) and in Central Kalimantan (see Sect. 14.5). However, it has also been
recorded as naturally growing in peatland (Nielsen 1992). Falcataria moluccana
subspecies fulva (described as Albizia eymae by Fosberg (1965)) is endemic to the
central montane part of Papua where it grows in primary and secondary montane rain
forest and regrowth on peat soil (e.g. near the Wissel lakes). Sourcing propagation
material from such sites could be considered given the peatland adapted nature of
this provenance.
1 This species is known by a large number of synonyms, including: Adenanthera falcata L.,
Adenanthera falcataria L., Adenanthera falcatoria L., Albizia eymae Fosberg, Albizia falcata
(L.) Backer ex Merr., Albizia falcataria (L.) Fosberg, Albizia fulva Lane-Poole, Albizia fulva
C.T. White and Francis, Albizia moluccana Miq., Clypearia alba Rump. and Paraserianthes
falcataria (L.) I.C. Nielsen.
14 Tropical Peatland Restoration in Indonesia by Replanting with Useful Indigenous. . .
423
direct sunlight and fluctuations in water availability. In addition, they should have
good pulping properties including a suitably long fiber length, little or no latex, low
to moderate ash content, and a suitable growth form (e.g., not multi-stemmed). In
lowland PSFs, 166 tree species (12.4% of total PSF flora) are pioneer species or
species with characteristics of those grown in secondary habitats (Giesen et al.
2018). When species with latex or unsuitable growth forms are removed from the
list, the 129 species remaining are potentially suitable, but their pulping properties
and actual growth rates need to be assessed. For some species this may already be
known (e.g., past trials by pulp companies or forestry research agencies), but for
many species this will need to be tried and tested. Promising species can then be
tested in trials under different regimes in terms of planting densities, addition of
mycorrhiza, initial fertilizer application, and so on. Following on from this, a smaller
number can then be taken on the road to domestication as a sustainable alternative to
Acacia crassicarpa on peatland.
In 2016 an Indonesian pulp and paper company established an initial shortlist of
nine promising species that they consider suitable for testing: Campnosperma
coriaceum, Combretocarpus rotundatus, Cratoxylum arborescens, Endospermum
diadenum, Lophopetalum multinervium, Melaleuca cajuputi, Shorea balangeran,
Lophostemon sp., and Nauclea subdita (APP 2017). A further promising species is
Falcataria moluccana (Miq.) Barneby and J.W.Grimes,
1 a (very) fast-growing
leguminous tree species locally known as sengon and widely cultivated on mineral
soils in Indonesia. It is native to the Moluccas, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and Solomon Islands, but is now widely planted throughout the humid
tropics. In Java, where it is cultivated on mineral soils, it is widely used in pulp
and paper production. The species generally prefers well drained soils and has been
tried on drained peatland (e.g., in South Sumatra plantation trials, personal observation, 2018) and in Central Kalimantan (see Sect. 14.5). However, it has also been
recorded as naturally growing in peatland (Nielsen 1992). Falcataria moluccana
subspecies fulva (described as Albizia eymae by Fosberg (1965)) is endemic to the
central montane part of Papua where it grows in primary and secondary montane rain
forest and regrowth on peat soil (e.g. near the Wissel lakes). Sourcing propagation
material from such sites could be considered given the peatland adapted nature of
this provenance.
1 This species is known by a large number of synonyms, including: Adenanthera falcata L.,
Adenanthera falcataria L., Adenanthera falcatoria L., Albizia eymae Fosberg, Albizia falcata
(L.) Backer ex Merr., Albizia falcataria (L.) Fosberg, Albizia fulva Lane-Poole, Albizia fulva
C.T. White and Francis, Albizia moluccana Miq., Clypearia alba Rump. and Paraserianthes
falcataria (L.) I.C. Nielsen.
14 Tropical Peatland Restoration in Indonesia by Replanting with Useful Indigenous. . .
423