Multi-dimensional rapid appraisal technique for evaluating the sustainability of energy plantation forests in East Lombok District, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract. Narendra BH, Widiatmaka, Kusmana C, Karlinasari L, Machfud. 2019. Multi-dimensional rapid appraisal technique for evaluating the sustainability of energy plantation forests in East Lombok District, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 1027-1033. The increased use of woody biomass as a renewable energy source should be supported by development of sustainable energy plantation forest. This study aims to evaluate the sustainability status of energy plantation forest in East Lombok District and to determine the leverage attributes affecting sustainability. The evaluation was carried out using rapid appraisal approach, consisting of multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) analysis to provide sustainability indices for ecological, economic and social dimensions, followed by Monte Carlo simulation to define the validity. Dominant attributes affecting the sustainability were assessed by sensitivity analysis. All analyses were executed using the R software. The evaluation of eight locations generally results in a quite sustainable status for ecological, social, and economic dimensions with the validity index values of 72.73%, 61.07%, and 58.49%, respectively. To maintain or enhance sustainability, some leverage attributes need to be prioritized for policy intervention. In the ecological dimension, increasing species diversity using some potential energy woody species should be prioritized. In the social dimension, optimizing the role and capability of forest farmer groups and their members is needed, while for the economic dimension, government should support the expanding area of energy plantation forest managed by each farmer.

Elevating Timber Sustainability: Exploring Non-Chemical Wood Modification via Air Heat Treatment for Diverse Applications

“…In Indonesia, recently, the plantations forests contribute to the wood supply of country and world. Plantation forests provide 85% of the wood supply in Indonesia [4][5][6]. It can be a hope in replacing the need for wood from natural forests.…”

“…Currently, the management of plantation forests in Indonesia is one of the most important breakthroughs as a supplier of wood for industry and households in the world [7,8]. The area of plantation forests in Indonesia until 2019 has reached around 5.1 million ha, and one of the major operations is the pulp plantation forest [6]. Currently, plantation forests develop many types of plants.…”

“…Currently, plantation forests develop many types of plants. Fast-growing species are plants widely developed in plantation forests [6,[9][10][11]. Fast-growing plant species, including sengon (Falcataria molucana), binuang (Octomeles sumatrana), acacia (Acacia penninervis), and jabon (Anthocephalus cadamba) [11][12][13].…”