Peatlands Rehabilitation through Species Enrichment on Post-fire Oil Palm Plantation Area

Abstract

Forest fires and land conversion to oil palm plantations are one of the major threats that caused dangerous impacts on the existence of peatlands in Indonesia. Rehabilitation by plant type enrichment method is an effort that can be developed to restore the ecological and hydrological functions of degraded peatlands. This study aimed to analyze biophysical conditions (soil characteristics), analyze the growth response of plant species against the combination of planting types; analyze the choice of planting combinations that are in accordance with the physical conditions of the field and the needs of local communities. This study was designed by varying the diversity of tree species or combination of planting. The research plot consists of three size area (5m x 5m, 10m x 10m, and 20m x 20m). The species that used in this study consists of Shorea balangeran, Durio zibethinus, Archidendron pauciflorum, Parkia speciosa, Coffea liberica and Areca pinanga. The results showed that the research plot has soil characteristic from mesotropic fertility categories (moderate fertility) to eutophic (fertile), while the pH between 3.2 -3.5 (very acidic). The growth of plant species at the age of five months has growth rate differentiation both height and diameter in each combination of planting. The height growth of Shorea balangeran species the highest which average of 35.16 cm while the diameter growth of Areca pinanga is 8.13 mm. The best combination of planting is a combination of six species wich consists Shorea balangeran, Durio zibethinus, Archidendron pauciflorum, Parkia speciosa, Coffea liberica and Areca pinanga. ABSTRAKKebakaran dan konversi lahan menjadi perkebunan kelapa sawit merupakan salah satu ancaman utama dan menimbulkan dampak yang sangat serius terhadap keberadaan lahan gambut di Indonesia. Rehabilitasi melalui metode pengayaan jenis tanaman merupakan salah satu upaya yang dapat kembangkan untuk mengembalikan fungsi ekologis dan hidrologis dari lahan gambut terdegradasi. Tujuan penelitian yaitu menganalisis kondisi biofisik berupa karakteristik sifat kimia tanah gambut, menganalisis respon pertumbuhan spesies tanaman terhadap kombinasi jenis penanaman serta menganalisis pilihan kombinasi penanaman yang sesuai dengan kondisi fisik lapangan dan kebutuhan masyarakat setempat. Penelitian dirancang dengan memvariasikan keanekaragaman jenis pohon atau kombinasi penanaman. Plot terdiri atas tiga tipe ukuran yang berbeda yaitu 5 m x 5 m, 10 m x 10 m, dan 20 m x 20 m. Spesies tanaman yang digunakan dalam penelitian adalah Shorea balangeran, Durio zibethinus, Archidendron pauciflorum, Parkia speciosa, Coffea liberica dan Areca pinanga. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa plot penelitian memiliki karakteristik tanah dengan kategori kesuburan mesotropik (kesuburan sedang) sampai eutrofik (subur), akan tetapi dengan pH antara 3,2 -3,5 (sangat masam). Rata-rata persen hidup tanaman terhadap kombinasi penanaman di seluruh tipe plot adalah >80%. Pertumbuhan jenis tanaman pada umur lima bulan memiliki riap rata-rata pertumbuh...

Growth of Dyera polyphylla and Shorea balangeran Seedlings on Various Growing Media for Restoration Program

“…The results show that both types of plants can adapt well to all growing media and greenhouse environments. Several studies related to D. polyphylla and S. balangeran in nurseries and in the field showed that both species grow best under microclimate conditions where air temperatures ranging from 22-33°C, relative air humidity between 57.9-86%, and light intensity ranging from 317-56,802 Lux (Graham et al 2013;Khalil et al 2019;Mardhatillah et al 2019;Santosa 2010;Tata et al 2022;Utami et al 2008). These values were pretty similar to the microclimate conditions in the greenhouse during this study.…”