The effect of flooding and light competition on the planting success of degraded tropical peatland

Abstract

Planting was done as a rehabilitation effort at degraded tropical peatland. Understanding the characteristics of the species and environmental conditions that affect plant growth will determine the success of the planting. This study aims to determine the main environmental factors that affect plants in the field so that the right species can be determined. This study used a randomized completely blocked design which was conducted in two stages, namely field testing and verification under controlled conditions in the nursery. The research treatments consisted of inundation conditions and competition with understorey. The competition factor is interpreted by the difference in light intensity at the verification stage. The species used are meranti (Shorea pallidfolia), gerunggang (Cratoxylum glaucum), terentang (Campnosperma coreacea) dan tumih (Combretocarpus rotundatus). The results showed that the inundation conditions had an effect on the survival of meranti and gerunggang species where the survival rate was 8.3%—96.3%, but it did not affect the terentang and tumih with the survival rate reaching > 80%. The growth of meranti and gerunggang tends to decrease in line with the inundation conditions, while the growth of terentang and tumih tends to increase. Meranti growth requires understorey as protection from high light intensity. The tumih and terentang show better growth without competition with understorey. The trends in the field are consistent with observations during the verification stage. The difference in the response of plants to environmental conditions determines the presence of these species in the succession stage. Keywords: rehabilitation, flooding, drainage, succession, sequen

Paludiculture: peatland utilization to support climate change adaptation

“…Knowledge of ecological tolerance species with potential for paludiculture. Sources of data based on literature from: [20,23,10,22,25,12,21,27,18,13,28]. 1.…”

“…The high light tolerance of jelutung, balangaran, tumih, terentang, and geronggang species makes these five species as pioneer species in severely degraded peat swamp forests where open areas are little or virtually no tree vegetation remains. The above-average survival rates for the five species are relatively high [7,28]. In addition, balangeran together with other species, namely Galam, is suitable for cultivation in peat swamp forest which is prone to fires because of its fire resistance, as well as because it is resistant to disturbance, although it would be better to plant it in peat swamp forest which is flooded occasionally and is different from that in peat swamp forest Galam prefers moderately/deeply inundation.…”

Forest structure change after forest fire in peatland of Central Kalimantan

“…Stands remain after damage as a determining factor and a driving force for success as a source of seeds for natural regeneration [13]. The results of the study at Forest Research of Tumbang Nusa (FRTN) showed that the distance from the seed source/dwelling stand and forest determines the level of species diversity in disturbed areas in peat swamp forest [14].…”

“…These interventions are in the form of selecting species that are very tolerant to extreme conditions [18], environmental manipulation, and regulation of peat hydrology. Indigenous peat swamp species especially Pioneer species are highly recommended for degraded peatlands [14,15,18,19]. This is due to the native species of peat swamps which have the ability to adapt very quickly to environmental changes, especially inundation that last for a long time [20].…”

“…Indigenous peat swamp species especially Pioneer species are highly recommended for degraded peatlands [14,15,18,19]. This is due to the native species of peat swamps which have the ability to adapt very quickly to environmental changes, especially inundation that last for a long time [20].…”