Land-use choices follow profitability at the expense of ecological functions in Indonesian smallholder landscapes

Abstract

Smallholder-dominated agricultural mosaic landscapes are highlighted as model production systems that deliver both economic and ecological goods in tropical agricultural landscapes, but trade-offs underlying current land-use dynamics are poorly known. Here, using the most comprehensive quantification of land-use change and associated bundles of ecosystem functions, services and economic benefits to date, we show that Indonesian smallholders predominantly choose farm portfolios with high economic productivity but low ecological value. The more profitable oil palm and rubber monocultures replace forests and agroforests critical for maintaining above- and below-ground ecological functions and the diversity of most taxa. Between the monocultures, the higher economic performance of oil palm over rubber comes with the reliance on fertilizer inputs and with increased nutrient leaching losses. Strategies to achieve an ecological-economic balance and a sustainable management of tropical smallholder landscapes must be prioritized to avoid further environmental degradation.

Expansion of oil palm and other cash crops causes an increase of the land surface temperature in the Jambi province in Indonesia

“…4a) and the observed land cover changes by Clough et al (2016) and Drescher et al (2016) (Supplement S9, Tables S9.1 and S9.2), we estimated the contribution of all land cover types (except forest) to the LST of the province between 2000 and 2015 to be 0.51 • C out of the observed 0.6 • C, which also supports our assumption that the LST increase in Jambi was for 85 % driven by land cover changes (see Supplement S9, Tables S9.1 and S9.2: Land use change analysis), with clearcut areas having a large contribution as they have the largest warming effect.…”

Farmer perceptions of plant–soil interactions can affect adoption of sustainable management practices in cocoa agroforests: a case study from Southeast Sulawesi

“…However, to promote the adoption of locally appropriate management approaches in these systems, it is first necessary to understand the drivers of smallholders' decision-making processes (Barrett and Bevis 2015). A number of studies have examined rural incentive structures (e.g., Shiferaw et al 2009) and the socioeconomic and environmental factors that drive land-use change and farm management in rural tropical areas (Clough et al 2016). Such research has shown that smallholders often base their management decisions on factors that can include but are not limited to their understanding of ecological processes.…”

Beyond sustainability criteria and principles in palm oil production: addressing consumer concerns through insetting

“…Although opportunity costs have often been cited as the main obstacle for land-use diversification in the oil palm growing landscapes (Clough et al 2016), more nuanced analysis that take into account the limitations of smallholder-managed fields do not support this argument (Ismail et al 2003;M. N. Mohd Noor, personal observation).…”

“…N. Mohd Noor, personal observation). At the same time, it is these small holdings that determine the tipping points of the ecological integrity of these highly fragmented oil palm landscapes (Fitzherbert et al 2008, Dawson et al 2013, Clough et al 2016. We conclude that the benefits of certification are insufficient to affect the behavior of growers, so oil palm landscapes need direct investment in the development of social capital of rural households to facilitate the development of alternative and improved livelihood opportunities with concurrent improved biodiversity outcomes.…”

“…In agricultural production especially, sustainability is often synonymous with increased efficiency of the production, which implies intensification of yield production with less consumption of land, water, and fertilizer (Tilman et al 2011), rather than sustainability in the economic or social senses. Oil palm, although one of the most efficient oil bearing crops, has also seen the largest expansion in the last decade and is thus often regarded as unsustainable (Fitzherbert et al 2008, Island 2015, Clough et al 2016. We build the argument that taking the social and institutional dimensions of the commodity production into account is a necessary precondition for obtaining the desired environmental sustainable outcomes (Omann andSpannenberg 2002, Roche andJakub 2014).…”