Pinus (Pinus merkusii) is commonly found in North Sumatra Forest. Community of Telagah Village, Sei Binge Sub District, Langkat, North Sumatera, generally manage the land with agroforestry system. Pinus is the one of agroforestry constituent in the community land in Telagah Village. This study aimed to analyse the suitability of the land for pinus in Telagah Village Sei Bingai Sub District, Langkat District, North Sumatra, Indonesia. This research was conducted on May to September 2018. The survey method was conducted to collect soil samples in the field. Spasial analysis for pinus land suitability was evaluated based on the matching method. The reference and criteria were adopted from the Land Suitability for Agricultural Plants by the Centre for Soil and Agroclimate Research, Bogor-Indonesia. The Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to map the actual and potential land suitability in Telagah Village. The results showed that the actual land suitability classes for pinus in this area were moderately suitable (S2) (97.26%) and marginal suitable (S3) (2.74%). The potential land suitability classes for pinus in this area were Suitable (S1) (52.04), moderately suitable (S2) (46.04%) and marginal suitable (S3) (1.92%) in Telagah Village. The temperature (tc) and erosion hazard (eh) were the dominant of limiting factor in this area.
The erosion plot method for direct evaluation in agriculture became necessary to (1) quantify soil erosion on cocoa, areca and oil palm, (2) determine the most effective soil conservation, and (3) calculate nutrient content in sediment. The experiment was treated with three conservation practices and the conventional treatment as control in a completely randomised block design. The results showed for the areca land use, that soil conservation with ridges + maize produced the lowest erosion (1.68 t/ha). For cocoa land use, the ridges + groundnut treatment produced the lowest erosion (8.2 t/ha). For oil palm land use, the cover crop of Mucuna bracteata had lowest erosion yield (12.2 t/ha). Soil conservation techniques significantly affected the levels of organic C and available P under the cocoa land use, where ridges + maize have the lowest content of organic C and available P in soil sediment (1.03% and 0.69 ppm). Soil conservation at areca land use also has a significant effect on the levels of organic C and available N, but it did not affect significantly the levels of available P and exchangeable K sediments, where ridges + groundnut have lowest organic C and available N in sediment (1.4% and 0.18%). Furthermore, soil conservation on the land use of oil palm showed a significant effect on the levels of available P, but did not significantly affect the levels of organic C, available N and exchangeable K sediments. Soil conservation with cover crops Mucuna bracteata showed the lowest available P in sediments (0.86 ppm).
The suitability land of oil palm in North Sumatra Province is important, especially in the lands that are often planted by the community. This study aimed to map the actual and potential suitability of the land for oil palm in Sei Bingai Subdistrict, Langkat, North Sumatra, Indonesia under the different land unit. This research was conducted from March to June 2018. The survey method was conducted to collect soil samples in the field. Land suitability classification (LSC) was evaluated based on the matching method. The Geographic Information System (SIG) was used to map the land suitability classes. The results showed that the land suitability classes for oil palm were marginally suitable (S3) on all land unit. There were no suitable (S1), moderately suitable (S2), and not suitable (N) classes were found in all land unit. There were several limiting factors in land suitability evaluation in the area, namely: the availability of water, erosion hazard, and root zone medium. The water availability (wa) was the dominant limiting factor in this area.
To address concerns over plastics in the global environment, this project produced three wood plastics composites (WPCs) which could divert plastics from the waste stream into new materials. The three materials made had a ratio of 85%:15%, 90%:10%, and 95%:5% low density polyethylene (LDPE) to wood powder and were produced using the dissolution method. Physical and mechanical properties of each WPC were evaluated according to Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) A 5908:2003. Their degradation in nature was evaluated through a graveyard test and assay test conducted in Coptotermes curvignathus termites. Results showed that density, moisture content, thickness swelling and water absorption of the WPCs fulfilled the JIS standard. The mechanical properties of these composites also met the JIS standard, particularly their modulus of elasticity (MOE). Modulus of rupture (MOR) and internal bonding (IB) showed in lower values, depending on the proportion of wood filler they contained. Discoloration of the WPCs was observed after burial in the soil with spectra alteration of attenuated transmission reflectance (ATR) in the band of 500-1000 cm-1 which could be assigned to detach the interphase between wood and plastics. As termite bait, the WPCs decreased in weight, even though the mass loss was comparatively small. Micro Confocal Raman Imaging Spectrometer revealed that termite guts from insects feeding on WPCs contained small amounts of LDPE. This indicated termite can consume plastics in the form of WPCs. Thus WPCs made predominantly of plastics can be degraded in nature. While producing WPCs can assist in decreasing plastics litter in the environment, the eventual fate of the LDPE in termites is still unknown.
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