10 Carbon Stocks from Peat Swamp Forest and Oil Palm Plantation …
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We compared our results with Murdiyarso’s et al. (2009) study to estimate
ecosystem C stocks of peat swamp forests at a landscape-scale from Tanjung Puting
area. They reported smaller total ecosystem C stocks (894 ± 112 Mg C/ha) than our
estimates (1770 ± 123 Mg C/ha) due to shallower organic soils in their study sites
(46 ± 7 cm). We calculated the total ecosystem C stocks of the primary peat swamp
forests in Tanjung Puting were 1332 ± 117 Mg C/ha (including 5 sites of primary
forest from Murdiyarso’s et al. (2009) and 2 sites of primary forest sites from our
study). Using the difference of 174 Mg C/ha from the weighted average of 3 sampled
sites of primary peat swamp forests and the mean of sampled oil palm plantations,
we calculated an estimate of 640 Mg CO 2 e/ha are potentially lost due to primary peat
swamp forest conversion to oil palm plantations due to vegetation loss. By combining
all of the available data on ecosystem C stocks from peat swamp forests in Tanjung
Puting, the results consistently show that the losses in C stocks were exceptionally
high when peat swamp forest was converted to oil palm plantations.
This result can provide scientific evidence to improve regulations related to peat
swamp forest conservation. For example, the Indonesia Presidential Decree No.
32/1990 and the Ministry of Agriculture Decree No. 14/2009 allow the use of Indonesian peatlands if peat thickness is less than 3 m. These policies do not consider carbon
emissions from the shallow peat swamp forest that may exceed the emissions from
the deep peat swamp forest ecosystem. An improvement of Indonesia’s peat map
where currently estimated storing about 21.6 Gt C carbon stocks is also needed to
reduce uncertainty and national peat carbon data (Warren et al. 2017).
Conclusion
This study provides robust scientific information for considerations of the role of
peat swamp forest conservation in climate change mitigation strategies. The large
carbon emissions resulting from their conversion clearly show the role of tropical
peat swamp forests as the largest pools of soil organic carbon. Thus, avoiding deforestation from peat swamp forests should be regulated as a permanent policy instead
of moratorium for a relatively short period of time. This is particularly important to
achieve targeted or more ambitious national emission reduction as well as to measure
the implementation progress agreed in Paris Agreement. Specifically stated in Article
6 of Paris Agreement that allows Indonesia to use carbon market as an international
cooperation for climate change mitigation strategy.
Further, the European Union just enacts the Delegated Act in 2019 which is aimed
to phase out palm oil as biofuel feedstock by 2030 since palm oil caused deforestation
and conflict with food security (EU 2019). This is could be perceived as a good
momentum for Indonesia to increase the research to intensify the yield of oil palm
without land expansion and to utilize the degraded land instead of forest. By doing so,
dual benefit might be attained, the economic incentives such as REDD+ incentive
and eligible to export to EU for biofuel feedstock due to its effort on reducing
deforestation and land degradation. In the end, avoiding peat forest conversion into
223
We compared our results with Murdiyarso’s et al. (2009) study to estimate
ecosystem C stocks of peat swamp forests at a landscape-scale from Tanjung Puting
area. They reported smaller total ecosystem C stocks (894 ± 112 Mg C/ha) than our
estimates (1770 ± 123 Mg C/ha) due to shallower organic soils in their study sites
(46 ± 7 cm). We calculated the total ecosystem C stocks of the primary peat swamp
forests in Tanjung Puting were 1332 ± 117 Mg C/ha (including 5 sites of primary
forest from Murdiyarso’s et al. (2009) and 2 sites of primary forest sites from our
study). Using the difference of 174 Mg C/ha from the weighted average of 3 sampled
sites of primary peat swamp forests and the mean of sampled oil palm plantations,
we calculated an estimate of 640 Mg CO 2 e/ha are potentially lost due to primary peat
swamp forest conversion to oil palm plantations due to vegetation loss. By combining
all of the available data on ecosystem C stocks from peat swamp forests in Tanjung
Puting, the results consistently show that the losses in C stocks were exceptionally
high when peat swamp forest was converted to oil palm plantations.
This result can provide scientific evidence to improve regulations related to peat
swamp forest conservation. For example, the Indonesia Presidential Decree No.
32/1990 and the Ministry of Agriculture Decree No. 14/2009 allow the use of Indonesian peatlands if peat thickness is less than 3 m. These policies do not consider carbon
emissions from the shallow peat swamp forest that may exceed the emissions from
the deep peat swamp forest ecosystem. An improvement of Indonesia’s peat map
where currently estimated storing about 21.6 Gt C carbon stocks is also needed to
reduce uncertainty and national peat carbon data (Warren et al. 2017).
Conclusion
This study provides robust scientific information for considerations of the role of
peat swamp forest conservation in climate change mitigation strategies. The large
carbon emissions resulting from their conversion clearly show the role of tropical
peat swamp forests as the largest pools of soil organic carbon. Thus, avoiding deforestation from peat swamp forests should be regulated as a permanent policy instead
of moratorium for a relatively short period of time. This is particularly important to
achieve targeted or more ambitious national emission reduction as well as to measure
the implementation progress agreed in Paris Agreement. Specifically stated in Article
6 of Paris Agreement that allows Indonesia to use carbon market as an international
cooperation for climate change mitigation strategy.
Further, the European Union just enacts the Delegated Act in 2019 which is aimed
to phase out palm oil as biofuel feedstock by 2030 since palm oil caused deforestation
and conflict with food security (EU 2019). This is could be perceived as a good
momentum for Indonesia to increase the research to intensify the yield of oil palm
without land expansion and to utilize the degraded land instead of forest. By doing so,
dual benefit might be attained, the economic incentives such as REDD+ incentive
and eligible to export to EU for biofuel feedstock due to its effort on reducing
deforestation and land degradation. In the end, avoiding peat forest conversion into