A Review of Southeast Asian Oil Palm and Its CO2 Fluxes

Abstract

Palm oil production is a key industry in tropical regions, driven by the demand for affordable vegetable oil. Palm oil production has been increasing by 9% every year, mostly due to expanding biofuel markets. However, the oil palm industry has been associated with key environmental issues, such as deforestation, peatland exploitation and biomass burning that release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, leading to climate change. This review therefore aims to discuss the characteristics of oil palm plantations and their impacts, especially CO2 emissions in the Southeast Asian region. The tropical climate and soil in Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, are very suitable for growing oil palm trees. However, due to the scarcity of available plantation areas deforestation occurs, especially in peat swamp areas. Total carbon losses from both biomass and peat due to the conversion of tropical virgin peat swamp forest into oil palm plantations are estimated to be around 427.2 ± 90.7 t C ha−1 and 17.1 ± 3.6 t C ha−1 year−1, respectively. Even though measured CO2 fluxes have shown that overall, oil palm plantation CO2 emissions are about one to two times higher than other major crops, the ability of oil palms to absorb CO2 (a net of 64 tons of CO2 per hectare each year) and produce around 18 tons of oxygen per hectare per year is one of the main advantages of this crop. Since the oil palm industry plays a crucial role in the socio-economic development of Southeast Asian countries, sustainable and environmentally friendly practices would provide economic benefits while minimizing environmental impacts. A comprehensive review of all existing oil plantation procedures is needed to ensure that this high yielding crop has highly competitive environmental benefits.

Oil Palm and Machine Learning: Reviewing One Decade of Ideas, Innovations, Applications, and Gaps

“…The Elaeis guineensis, commonly known as oil palm, is a single-stemmed branchless tree, which takes several years of investment and labour work before producing harvestable oil containing fresh fruit bunch (FFB) [25]. Two different kinds of vegetable oils are produced from oil palm fruit at first, namely, crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil.…”

The role of soils in provision of energy

“…By contrast, conversion of permanent grass or forest to Miscanthus , poplar or rotational energy crops in the UK was simulated to result in increases in greenhouse gas emissions and losses of soil C mainly owing to cultivation and reduced C inputs [72]. Conversion of peatlands into land uses for energy cropping can also result in high and continuing losses of C [7,73,74]; conversion of tropical virgin peat swamp forests in Southeast Asia to oil palm plantation has been observed to result in increased heterotrophic respiration of soil C of between 7 and 95 t ha −1 yr −1 [74] owing to drainage and cultivation of the peats. While the impact of bioenergy on soils is highly dependent on the land selected to grow the energy crops, a market analysis of the economic and land-use consequences of biofuels using the GTAP-BIO model concluded that the major market-mediated responses are likely to include switching from food to energy crops, increases in intensification and conversion of forests or pastures to energy cropping [75].…”

Sustainable Palm Oil Certification Scheme Frameworks and Impacts: A Systematic Literature Review

“…In 2015, Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) was introduced as a national standard by the Malaysian government to shows its commitment toward sustainable palm oil production. Well-planned and monitored cultivation and processing of palm oil can mitigate carbon stock degradation and enhance conservation values [17][18][19]. By specifically introducing the MSPO, the Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is strongly committed to the maintenance of, and mitigating the impact on, environmental ecosystems for the safe and healthy production of palm oil-based products.…”