Effects of soil management practices on soil fauna feeding activity in an Indonesian oil palm plantation

Tao, Hsiao-Hang; Slade, Eleanor M.; Willis, Katherine J.; Caliman, J. P.; Snaddon, Jake L.

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2015.11.012

Cited by 79 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…), and also potentially in chemical fertilizer and organic matter application (Tao et al . ). Soil compaction by machinery may also produce heterogeneity, as may the legacy of soil excavation used to produce terraces for planting (Yahya et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Oil palm plantations are intensively managed, with large quantities of chemical and organic fertilizers are periodically used to increase the yields (Tao et al . ), and with extensive erosion from heavy rainfall preventing the formation of extensive organic horizons. Thus, there is a need to study the impacts of both logging and oil palm agriculture on structure and function of soil microbial communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impact of tropical forest logging and oil palm agriculture on the soil microbiome

et al. 2016

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Selective logging and forest conversion to oil palm agriculture are rapidly altering tropical forests. However, functional responses of the soil microbiome to these land-use changes are poorly understood. Using 16S rRNA gene and shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we compared composition and functional attributes of soil biota between unlogged, once-logged and twice-logged rainforest, and areas converted to oil palm plantations in Sabah, Borneo. Although there was no significant effect of logging history, we found a significant difference between the taxonomic and functional composition of both primary and logged forests and oil palm. Oil palm had greater abundances of genes associated with DNA, RNA, protein metabolism and other core metabolic functions, but conversely, lower abundance of genes associated with secondary metabolism and cell-cell interactions, indicating less importance of antagonism or mutualism in the more oligotrophic oil palm environment. Overall, these results show a striking difference in taxonomic composition and functional gene diversity of soil microorganisms between oil palm and forest, but no significant difference between primary forest and forest areas with differing logging history. This reinforces the view that logged forest retains most features and functions of the original soil community. However, networks based on strong correlations between taxonomy and functions showed that network complexity is unexpectedly increased due to both logging and oil palm agriculture, which suggests a pervasive effect of both land-use changes on the interaction of soil microbes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of tropical forest logging and oil palm agriculture on the soil microbiome

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The climate of this region is tropical humid, with a mean temperature of 26.8°C and an average rainfall of 2,400 mm (Tao, Slade, Willis, Caliman, & Snaddon, 2016). The plantation, belonging to PT SMART (Golden Agri-Resources), was established in 1987 and has been certified by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Replanting of first‐cycle oil palm results in a second wave of biodiversity loss

Ashton‐Butt

Willcock

Purnomo³

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Conversion of forest to oil palm plantations results in a significant loss of biodiversity. Despite this, first‐cycle oil palm plantations can sustain relatively high biodiversity compared to other crops. However, the long‐term effects of oil palm agriculture on flora and fauna are unknown. Oil palm has a 25‐year commercial lifespan before it must be replanted, due to reduced productivity and difficulty of harvesting. Loss of the complex vegetation structure of oil palm plantations during the replanting process will likely have impacts on the ecosystem at a local and landscape scale. However, the effect of replanting on biodiversity is poorly understood. Here, we investigate the effects of replanting oil palm on soil macrofauna communities. We assessed ordinal richness, abundance, and community composition of soil macrofauna in first‐ (25‐ to 27‐year‐old) and second‐cycle oil palm (freshly cleared, 1‐year‐old, 3‐year‐old, and 7‐year‐old mature). Macrofauna abundance and richness drastically declined immediately after replanting. Macrofauna richness showed some recovery 7 years after replanting, but was still 19% lower than first‐cycle oil palm. Macrofauna abundance recovered to similar levels to that of first‐cycle oil palm plantations, 1 year after replanting. This was mainly due to high ant abundance, possibly due to the increased understory vegetation as herbicides are not used at this age. However, there were subsequent declines in macrofauna abundance 3 and 7 years after replanting, resulting in a 59% drop in macrofauna abundance compared to first‐cycle levels. Furthermore, soil macrofauna community composition in all ages of second‐cycle oil palm was different to first‐cycle plantations, with decomposers suffering particular declines. After considerable biodiversity loss due to forest conversion for oil palm, belowground invertebrate communities suffer a second wave of biodiversity loss due to replanting. This is likely to have serious implications for soil invertebrate diversity and agricultural sustainability in oil palm landscapes, due to the vital ecosystem functions that soil macrofauna provide.

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“…EFB application increased soil bacterial diversity, especially of species involved in soil functions improving fertility. In addition, EFB decomposition was found to stimulate soil fauna feeding activity as observed using the bait-lamina strips method (Tao et al, 2016). This technique provides an indicator of the soil fauna feeding activity related to the presence of meso and microorganisms.…”

Section: Feeding Soil Quality With Empty Fruit Bunchesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agroecological practices in oil palm plantations: examples from the field

Bessou

Verwilghen

Beaudoin‐Ollivier

et al. 2017

OCL

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-Palm oil is nowadays the first vegetable oil consumed worldwide. Given the world population growth and the increasing demand in fat for food and fuel, the increase in oil palm production is expected to continue. It is thus important to find ways of reducing the ecological impact of oil palm plantations at both the agroecosystem and the mill supply area levels, by improving agricultural practices and land uses. This is where agroecology can play a very critical role. The present article gathers short stories on agroecological practices currently taking place in oil palm plantations in South-East Asia. Such stories notably highlight the importance of the various palm co-products and how appropriate recycling strategies can allow for reducing external inputs to both the field and the mill. Besides limiting environmental impacts thanks to such savings, several coproducts used as organic amendments can even help to maintain or enhance soil quality. Other stories explored agroecological practices developed for biological controls. Although integrated pest management has been applied in palm plantations for a long time, the underlying mechanisms are still not fully deciphered and practices still need to be improved. More knowledge is needed in order to better account for the holistic role of biodiversity and arbitrate trade-offs between practices and ecosystem services, at both plantation and landscape levels.Keywords: palm oil / agroecology / biological control / recycling / composting / soil quality Résumé -Pratiques agroécologiques en plantations de palmier à huile : exemples de terrain. L'huile de palme est aujourd'hui la première huile végétale consommée au monde. Étant donné la croissance démographique mondiale et la demande accrue en corps gras pour l'alimentation et les biocarburants, l'augmentation de la production d'huile de palme devrait perdurer. Il est ainsi primordial de trouver des moyens de production permettant de réduire l'impact écologique des plantations de palmier à huile, à la fois à l'échelle de l'agroécosystème et celle du bassin d'approvisionnement de l'huilerie, en améliorant les pratiques et la gestion des usages des sols. Les principes de l'agroécologie peuvent aider à développer des solutions à ces diverses échelles. Cet article rassemble diverses histoires courtes illustrant des pratiques agroécologiques mises en place dans des plantations de palmier à huile en Asie du Sud-Est. Ces illustrations mettent en évidence l'importance des nombreux co-produits issus du palmier et leur rôle clé dans les stratégies de recyclage pour réduire le recours aux intrants externes pour la plantation comme pour l'huilerie. Au-delà de la réduction des impacts environnementaux du fait de ces économies d'intrants, certains co-produits restitués en plantation peuvent également permettre de maintenir, voire d'améliorer, la qualité des sols. D'autres histoires courtes parcourent quelques autres pratiques agroécologiques dans le domaine de la lutte intégrée. Bien que de nombreuses pratiques de contrôle bi...

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Effects of soil management practices on soil fauna feeding activity in an Indonesian oil palm plantation

Cited by 79 publications

References 41 publications

The impact of tropical forest logging and oil palm agriculture on the soil microbiome

The impact of tropical forest logging and oil palm agriculture on the soil microbiome

Replanting of first‐cycle oil palm results in a second wave of biodiversity loss

Agroecological practices in oil palm plantations: examples from the field

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