Soil redistribution by terracing alleviates soil organic carbon losses caused by forest conversion to rubber plantation

Blécourt, Marleen de; Hänsel, Vera Maria; Brumme, R.; Corre, Marife D.; Veldkamp, Edzo

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2013.10.043

Cited by 45 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…() found a threefold reduction in soil loss in a plantation with mulched paths compared to a plantation with uncovered paths. Terracing is a commonly employed management practice, especially in areas with steep slopes, which has been shown to reduce soil erosion and SOC losses in converted landscapes (de Blécourt et al ., ). For terracing to be effective, it must be well planned, correctly constructed, and properly maintained (Dorren & Rey, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

A review of the ecosystem functions in oil palm plantations, using forests as a reference system

et al. 2016

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Oil palm plantations have expanded rapidly in recent decades. This large-scale land-use change has had great ecological, economic, and social impacts on both the areas converted to oil palm and their surroundings. However, research on the impacts of oil palm cultivation is scattered and patchy, and no clear overview exists. We address this gap through a systematic and comprehensive literature review of all ecosystem functions in oil palm plantations, including several (genetic, medicinal and ornamental resources, information functions) not included in previous systematic reviews. We compare ecosystem functions in oil palm plantations to those in forests, as the conversion of forest to oil palm is prevalent in the tropics. We find that oil palm plantations generally have reduced ecosystem functioning compared to forests: 11 out of 14 ecosystem functions show a net decrease in level of function. Some functions show decreases with potentially irreversible global impacts (e.g. reductions in gas and climate regulation, habitat and nursery functions, genetic resources, medicinal resources, and information functions). The most serious impacts occur when forest is cleared to establish new plantations, and immediately afterwards, especially on peat soils. To variable degrees, specific plantation management measures can prevent or reduce losses of some ecosystem functions (e.g. avoid illegal land clearing via fire, avoid draining of peat, use of integrated pest management, use of cover crops, mulch, and compost) and we highlight synergistic mitigation measures that can improve multiple ecosystem functions simultaneously. The only ecosystem function which increases in oil palm plantations is, unsurprisingly, the production of marketable goods. Our review highlights numerous research gaps. In particular, there are significant gaps with respect to socio-cultural information functions. Further, there is a need for more empirical data on the importance of spatial and temporal scales, such as differences among plantations in different environments, of different sizes, and of different ages, as our review has identified examples where ecosystem functions vary spatially and temporally. Finally, more research is needed on developing management practices that can offset the losses of ecosystem functions. Our findings should stimulate research to address the identified gaps, and provide a foundation for more systematic research and discussion on ways to minimize the negative impacts and maximize the positive impacts of oil palm cultivation.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

A review of the ecosystem functions in oil palm plantations, using forests as a reference system

et al. 2016

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“…Rubber plantations in the region were established on terraces, with inter‐row distance and tree spacing of 8–10 and 2.5–3.0 m (7.3 and 2.6 m for old rubber plot in Project I) on former state farms, whereas averaged spacing in smallholder plantations (young and mid‐age rubber) was 6 and 2.5 m. The width of terraces was much narrower than slopes between tree rows, with terrace width ranging from <1 m in smallholder plantations to about 1.5 m in plantations on former state farm (e.g., Figure in de Blécourt, Hänsel, Brumme, Corre, & Veldkamp, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Converting forests into rubber plantations weakened the soil CH₄ sink in tropical uplands

et al. 2019

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Large‐scale conversion of natural forest to rubber plantations has taken place for decades in Southeast Asia, help to make it a deforestation hot spot. Besides negative changes in biodiversity, ecosystem water, and carbon budgets, converting forests to plantations often reduced CH4 uptake by soils. The latter process, which might be partly responsible for resumed increase in the growth rate of CH4 atmospheric concentrations since 2006, has not been adequately investigated. We measured soil surface CH4 fluxes during 2014 and 2015 in natural forests and rubber plantations of different age and soil textures in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China—a representative area for this type of land‐use change. Natural forest soils were stronger CH4 sinks than rubber soils, with annual CH4 fluxes of −2.41 ± 0.28 and −1.01 ± 0.23 kg C ha−1 yr−1, respectively. Water‐filled pore space was the main factor explaining the differences between natural forests and rubber plantations, even reverting rubber soils temporarily from CH4 sink into a methane source during the rainy season in older plantations. Soil nitrate content was often lower under rubber plantations. Added as a model covariate, this factor improved explanation power of the CH4 flux—water‐filled pore space regression. Although soils under rubber plantation were more clayey than soils under natural forest, this was not the decisive factor driving higher soil moisture and lower CH4 uptake in rubber soils. Thus, the conversion of forests into rubber plantations exerts a negative impact on the CH4 balance in the tropics and likely contributes to global climate.

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“…The cutting sections of new terraces reduce crop yields as a result of the removal of fertile soil and the compaction of the remaining soil. Understanding these outcomes, by the appropriate transfer of knowledge, to farmers may assist them in taking measures (e.g., soil backfill and loosening) to avoid unnecessary economic losses (Liu et al, 2008;de Blécourt et al, 2014). One particularly effective way to transfer knowledge is to use one farmer, who already is using the transferred knowledge, to demonstrate the approach and its advantages to other nearby farmers.…”

Section: The Insufficient Transfer Of Knowledge Regarding Terrace Conmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global synthesis of the classifications, distributions, benefits and issues of terracing

Wei

Chen

Wang

et al. 2016

Earth-Science Reviews

222

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For thousands of years, humans have created different types of terraces in different sloping conditions, meant to mitigate flood risks, reduce soil erosion and conserve water. These anthropogenic landscapes can be found in tropical and subtropical rainforests, deserts, and arid and semiarid mountains across the globe. Despite the long history, the roles of and the mechanisms by which terracing improves ecosystem services (ESs) remain poorly understood. Using literature synthesis and quantitative analysis, the worldwide types, distributions, major benefits and issues of terracing are presented in this review. A key terracing indicator, defined as the ratio of different ESs under terraced and non-terraced slopes (δ), was used to quantify the role of terracing in providing ESs. Our results indicated that ESs provided by terracing was generally positive because the mean values of δ were mostly greater than one. The most prominent role of terracing was found in erosion control (11.46 ± 2.34), followed by runoff reduction (2.60 ± 1.79), biomass accumulation (1.94 ± 0.59), soil water recharge (1.20 ± 0.23), and nutrient enhancement (1.20 ± 0.48). Terracing, to a lesser extent, could also enhance the survival rates of plant seedlings, promote ecosystem restoration, and increase crop yields. While slopes experiencing severe human disturbance (e.g., overgrazing and deforestation) can generally become more stable after terracing, negative effects of terracing may occur in poorly-designed or poorly-managed terraces. Among the reasons are the lack of environmental legislation, changes in traditional concepts and lifestyles of local people, as well as price decreases for agricultural products. All of these can accelerate terrace abandonment and degradation. In light of these findings, possible solutions regarding socio-economic changes and techniques to improve already degraded terraces are discussed.

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Soil redistribution by terracing alleviates soil organic carbon losses caused by forest conversion to rubber plantation

Cited by 45 publications

References 17 publications

A review of the ecosystem functions in oil palm plantations, using forests as a reference system

A review of the ecosystem functions in oil palm plantations, using forests as a reference system

Converting forests into rubber plantations weakened the soil CH₄ sink in tropical uplands

Global synthesis of the classifications, distributions, benefits and issues of terracing

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Soil redistribution by terracing alleviates soil organic carbon losses caused by forest conversion to rubber plantation

Cited by 45 publications

References 17 publications

A review of the ecosystem functions in oil palm plantations, using forests as a reference system

A review of the ecosystem functions in oil palm plantations, using forests as a reference system

Converting forests into rubber plantations weakened the soil CH4 sink in tropical uplands

Global synthesis of the classifications, distributions, benefits and issues of terracing

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Converting forests into rubber plantations weakened the soil CH₄ sink in tropical uplands