Impact of forest conversion to oil palm and rubber plantations on microclimate and the role of the 2015 ENSO event

Meijide, Ana; Badu, Chandra Shekhar; Moyano, Fernando; Tiralla, Nina; Gunawan, Dodo; Knohl, Alexander

doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2018.01.013

Cited by 144 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The studied monoculture is relatively intensively managed, with fertilizer application including 230 kg N ha −1 year −1 (Teuscher et al, 2016). The observed water use rates exceed those of small-holder plantations of similar age (108 ± 8 kg day −1 , mean ± SE among eight sites) and compare with values from another intensively managed, commercial oil palm monoculture plantation in the region (178 ± 5 kg day −1 ; Meijide et al, 2018;Röll et al, 2015). Thus, our data indicates that intensive oil palm management leads to high water use rates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…In this region, natural forests have largely been converted and monoculture oil palm plantations are widespread (Drescher et al, 2016). Transpiration rates from commercial oil palm plantations can be high and may exceed those of remaining forests (Meijide et al, 2018;Röll et al, 2015). Transpiration rates from commercial oil palm plantations can be high and may exceed those of remaining forests (Meijide et al, 2018;Röll et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The land cover change and the expansion of oil palm plantations are associated with losses of biodiversity and impaired ecosystem functions (Barnes et al, 2014;Clough et al, 2016;Dislich et al, 2017). Transpiration rates from commercial oil palm plantations can be high and may exceed those of remaining forests (Meijide et al, 2018;Röll et al, 2015). To test possibilities of alleviating the ecological impacts of oil palm cultivation, a biodiversity enrichment experiment, EFForTS-BEE, was set up in a commercial oil palm plantation by planting native tree species and establishing oil palm agroforests (Teuscher et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Drone‐based photogrammetry‐derived crown metrics for predicting tree and oil palm water use

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Transpiration at the stand level is often estimated from water use measurements on a limited number of plants and then scaled up by predicting the remaining plants of a stand by plant size-related variables. Today, drone-based methods offer new opportunities for plant size assessments. We tested crown variables derived from drone-based photogrammetry for predicting and scaling plant water use. In an oil palm agroforest and an oil palm monoculture plantation in lowland Sumatra, Indonesia, tree and oil palm water use rates were measured by sap flux techniques.Simultaneously, aerial images were taken from an octocopter equipped with an Red Green Blue (RGB) camera. We used the structure from motion approach to compute several crown variables such as crown length, width, and volume. Crown volumes for both palms (69%) and trees (81%) explained much of the observed spatial variability in water use; however, the specific crown volume model differed between palms and trees and there was no single linear model fitting for both. Among the trees, crown volume explained more of the observed variability than stem diameter, and in consequence, uncertainties in stand level estimates resulting from scaling were largely reduced. For oil palms, an appropriate whole-plant size-related predictor variable was thus far not available. Stand level transpiration estimates in the studied oil palm agroforest were lower than those in the oil palm monoculture, which is probably due to the small-statured trees. In conclusion, we consider drone-derived crown metrics very useful for the scaling from single plant water use to stand-level transpiration.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Drone‐based photogrammetry‐derived crown metrics for predicting tree and oil palm water use

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The three best performing species in our experiment (in terms of survival and size reached in 2018), that is, P. canescens , A. pauciflorum and P. speciosa, are classified as early successional species (De Graaf, Hildebrand, Zwan, & Fundter, ; Nielsen, ; Wiriadinata & Bamroongrugsa, ) and the species that experienced high mortality in our experiment, that is, S. leprosula, D. zibethinus and D. polyphylla , are more closely associated with primary forest (Ashton, ; Rudjiman & Tonanon, ; Yap, Martawijaya, Miller, & Lemmens, ). This might be explained by the altered ecosystem properties of oil palm plantations in comparison to lowland rainforests, including hotter and dryer conditions (Meijide et al, ), more open canopy and reduced litter carbon input (Drescher et al, ), and, disregarding fertilizer input, an impoverished nutrient availability in the soil (Allen et al, ; Guillaume, Muhammad, & Kuzyakov, ). In our study, the effect of site conditions on tree survival was not clear, but it seemed that these two groups of species responded differently to most environmental variables (Figure ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree performance in a biodiversity enrichment experiment in an oil palm landscape

Zemp

Gérard

Hölscher

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Large‐scale conversion of tropical forests into oil palm monocultures has led to dramatic losses of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. While ecological restoration is urgently needed in many oil palm landscapes, there is a lack of scientific knowledge of sustainable management strategies. We established experimental tree islands of varying sizes (25 m2 to 1,600 m2) and diversity levels (1, 2, 3 and 6 species) in an oil palm plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia. Six native multi‐purpose tree species including Archidendron pauciflorum (Jengkol), Durio zibethinus (Durian), Parkia speciosa (Petai), Shorea leprosula (Meranti), Peronema canescens (Sungkai) and Dyera polyphylla (Jelutung) were planted between living and felled oil palms. Here, we analyse the controlling factors of tree growth and survival during the first 4 years at the level of local neighbourhood and tree island. We found a significant effect of diversity levels on tree productivity, that is, basal area was higher in multi‐species than in single‐species tree islands. This overyielding was attributed to enhanced tree growth, while mortality had no effect. In the local neighbourhood, tree species richness had a positive effect on tree growth during the first year only, indicating that selection and dominance of well‐performing species at high level of diversity are most likely driving overyielding. Trees grew better away from living oil palms, suggesting tree‐palm competition. Proximity to felled oil palms increased growth especially during the first years, during which the planted trees might have benefited from the additional available space and resources. Despite positive edge effects from the conventional oil palm management in the surrounding, tree island size had an overall positive effect on tree growth. Synthesis and applications. We planted native trees in an oil palm landscape following a tree island pattern. The establishment success differed widely among the six planted species. The selection of particular species is a decisive factor to foster a positive relationship between diversity and tree growth. Planting larger tree islands (e.g. 1,600 square metres) is a better option to enhance tree growth, but tree‐palm competition implies a trade‐off between tree growth and palm oil production in the tree islands.

show abstract

“…In particular, since the 1990s, the Indonesian regions of Sumatra and Kalimantan experienced the highest rate (average 450,000 ha/year) of oil palm expansion anywhere in the world (Austin et al, ; Carlson et al, ; Gaveau et al, ; Meijaard et al, ; Statistics Indonesia, ). In situ and remote sensing observations have found significant impacts of such land cover change on carbon emissions (Carlson et al, ; Guillaume et al, ), water and energy fluxes (Meijide et al, ; Merten et al, ), surface temperatures (Sabajo et al, ), and microclimates (Hardwick et al, ; Meijide et al, ). Oil palm plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan span 8–11 × 10 6 ha (Mha), nearly 10% of total regional land area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconciling Canopy Interception Parameterization and Rainfall Forcing Frequency in the Community Land Model for Simulating Evapotranspiration of Rainforests and Oil Palm Plantations in Indonesia

Fan

Meijide

Lawrence

et al. 2019

J Adv Model Earth Syst

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

By mediating evapotranspiration processes, plant canopies play an important role in the terrestrial water cycle and regional climate. Substantial uncertainties exist in modeling canopy water interception and related hydrological processes due to rainfall forcing frequency selection and varying canopy traits. Here we design a new time interpolation method “zero” to better represent convective‐type precipitation in tropical regions. We also implement and recalibrate plant functional type‐specific interception parameters for rainforests and oil palm plantations, where oil palms express higher water interception capacity than forests, using the Community Land Model (CLM) versions 4.5 and 5.0 with CLM‐Palm embedded. Reconciling the interception scheme with realistic precipitation forcing produces more accurate canopy evaporation and transpiration for both plant functional types, which in turn improves simulated evapotranspiration and energy partitioning when benchmarked against observations from our study sites in Indonesia and an extensive literature review. Regional simulations for Sumatra and Kalimantan show that industrial oil palm plantations have 18–27% higher transpiration and 15–20% higher evapotranspiration than forests on an annual regional average basis across different ages or successional stages, even though the forests experience higher average precipitation according to reanalysis data. Our land‐only modeling results indicate that current oil palm plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan use 15–20% more water (mean 220 mm or 20 Gt) per year compared to lowland rainforests of the same extent. The extra water use by oil palm reduces soil moisture and runoff that could affect ecosystem services such as productivity of staple crops and availability of drinking water in rural areas.

show abstract

Impact of forest conversion to oil palm and rubber plantations on microclimate and the role of the 2015 ENSO event

Cited by 144 publications

References 59 publications

Drone‐based photogrammetry‐derived crown metrics for predicting tree and oil palm water use

Drone‐based photogrammetry‐derived crown metrics for predicting tree and oil palm water use

Tree performance in a biodiversity enrichment experiment in an oil palm landscape

Reconciling Canopy Interception Parameterization and Rainfall Forcing Frequency in the Community Land Model for Simulating Evapotranspiration of Rainforests and Oil Palm Plantations in Indonesia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About