Understanding nutrient cycles as a key to sustainable forest plantation on tropical peatland in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia has around 14 million ha of peatlands which constitutes 7.4% of Indonesia's land area and very potential to be developed to support national development, especially related to economic strengthening and in enhancing employment opportunities. An expand areas of peatlands in Indonesia are already being utilized for forest plantation of Acacia crassicarpa. To gain clues in understanding how the chemically poor ecosystems can support the plantation, nutrient cycles. The research was carried out in Acacia crassicarpa plantation areas in South Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau, respectively representing shallow, medium, and deep peat. Data collection includes chemical characteristics of the peat, decomposition rate of the litter, fluctuations of the water table, and growth and production of the Acacia crassicarpa. The results show that: A) Acacia crassicarpa growth and production on peatlands much more depend on the nutrient cycles than on the chemical characteristics of the original soil; b) Leaf-fall and the speed of decomposition respectively from the highest to the lowest, are Riau (deep peat), South Sumatra (shallow peat), and Jambi (medium peat); and c) The more leaf-fall produced and the faster the decomposition, the faster is the nutrient cycles and hence the highest is the production of plant biomass.