• Authors:
    • Ishak, C. F.
    • Hanif, A. H. M.
    • Goh, K. J.
    • Sung, C. T. B.
    • Moradi, A.
  • Source: SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH
  • Volume: 145
  • Year: 2015
  • Summary: Mulching materials from oil palm residues such as pruned palm fronds (OPF), empty fruit bunches (EFB), and Eco-mat (ECO; a compressed EFB mat) are often the recommended soil and water conservation practices (CP) for oil palm plantations on hill slopes. Another recommended CP is the construction of silt pits or trenches (SIL) across the hill slope to capture runoff and then return the water and nutrients into the surrounding soil. Although these four CP are recommended practices, their relative effects on improving soil physical properties and on increasing the soil water content have never been compared with one another. Consequently, the objective of this study was to fill in this knowledge gap. A three-year field experiment was conducted in a non-terraced oil palm plantation, and soil samples from 0 to 0.15, 0.15 to 0.30, and 0.30 to 0.45. m depths were collected every three months and analyzed for their soil physical properties. Soil water content up to 0.75. m depth was also measured daily. EFB released the highest amount of organic matter and nutrients into the soil compared to OPF, ECO, and SIL. Hence, EFB was most effective to increase soil aggregation, aggregate stability, soil water retention at field capacity, available soil water content, and the relative proportion of soil mesopores. Due to these improved soil physical properties, EFB also gave the highest soil water content. Unlike ECO that concentrated more water in the upper soil layers, EFB distributed the soil water more uniformly throughout the whole soil profile, but SIL concentrated more soil water in the lower soil layers (>0.30. m) because the water levels in the pits were often below 0.30. m from the soil surface. The large opening area of the silt pits could have also caused large evaporative water losses from the pits. EFB mulching is recommended as the best CP, particularly for oil palm plantations on hill slopes. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.
  • Authors:
    • Sakamoto, A.
    • Kimoto, N.
    • Aoki, H.
    • Yoshioka, R.
    • Yoshioka, N.
    • Arai, H.
    • Shimada, S.
    • Sakata, R.
    • Melling, L.
    • Inubushi, K.
  • Source: SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION
  • Volume: 61
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2015
  • Summary: Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) production in Indonesia and Malaysia is currently the focus of concern due to its potential impact on the environment via greenhouse gas emissions. Oil palm plantations have been reported to release large quantities of nitrous oxide (N 2O) into the atmosphere, which is most likely linked to nitrogen (N) fertilizer use. However, there are still limited studies comparing effects of the type of soil and N fertilizer on N 2O and carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of soil types and N fertilizer on N 2O and CO 2 emissions in oil palm plantations. N 2O and CO 2 emissions were measured for 15-16 months from 2010-2012 in Tunggal sandy loam soil, Indonesia, and in Simunjan sandy soil and Tatau peat soil, Malaysia. Within each site, treatments with coated fertilizer and conventional fertilizer, and unfertilized with and without tillage, were established. N 2O and CO 2 fluxes showed high variabilities with seasons, types of soil and fertilizer treatments. The mean of the N 2O fluxes from each treatment in the Simunjan sandy soil was the lowest among the three soils, ranging from 0.80 to 3.81 and 1.63 to 5.34 g N m -2 h -1 in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. The mean of the N 2O fluxes from each treatment in the Tunggal sandy loam soil ranged from 27.4 to 89.7 and 6.27 to 19.1 g N m -2 h -1 in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. The mean of the N 2O fluxes was found to be the highest among the three soils in each treatment of the Tatau peat soil, ranging from 131 to 523 and 66.1 to 606 g N m -2 h -1 in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. The N application rate of coated fertilizer was about half that of conventional fertilizer and was applied as deep placement. In the Tungal soil, coated fertilizer reduced N 2O emissions by 31 and 48% in wet and dry seasons, respectively, compared to the conventional fertilizer, and was similar to unfertilized treatment. However, N 2O emissions increased in Simunjan and Tatau soils during dry seasons. There was no significant difference between treatments. These results show that N 2O and CO 2 fluxes in the tropical oil palm plantations were significantly affected by the type of soil, but not always by fertilizer treatments.
  • Authors:
    • Santana,T. A. de
    • Oliveira,P. S.
    • Silva,L. D.
    • Laviola,B. G.
    • Almeida,A. A. F. de
    • Gomes,F. P.
  • Source: Biomass and Bioenergy
  • Volume: 75
  • Year: 2015
  • Summary: In order to quantify the water use efficiency and water consumption during the early growth of Jatropha curcas L., three genotypes were grown in pots under greenhouse conditions, and subjected to two watering regimes: irrigated (substrate matric potential (Psi m) of -9.8 to -7.4 kPa) and water deficit (Psi m=-98.6 to -33.5 kPa). Independent of watering regime, the genotypes did not differ on the variables analyzed. Despite the reduction of substrate water content in water deficit treatment, no significant decrease (p<0.05) of leaf water potential (Psi w) was observed, which suggests some water redistribution from the succulent stems of J. curcas. The values of net photosynthetic rate ( A), stomatal conductance ( gs), and transpiration ( E) were reduced to 80, 90 and 85%, respectively, as compared to control plants. Moreover, drought led to 78% reduction in hydraulic conductance ( KL ). At the end of the experiment, the average water consumption in water deficit plants was 27% lower than in control plants. Drought-induced decrease in biomass production led to reduction of water use efficiency of biomass (WUE Biomass). However, due to the more significant effect on gs and E than A at 66 DAIT, intrinsic ( A/gs) and instantaneous efficiency ( A/E), water use increased 50% and 27%, respectively. The results showed that there was no intergenotypic variation for the traits evaluated, and that the reduction of water availability in the substrate proved to be an effective technique in the increase of photosynthetic efficiency of water use in plants of J. curcas, reducing water consumption in this species.
  • Authors:
    • Austin,K. G.
    • Kasibhatla,P. S.
    • Urban,D. L.
    • Stolle,F.
    • Vincent,J.
  • Source: Web Of Knowledge
  • Volume: 10
  • Issue: 5
  • Year: 2015
  • Summary: Our society faces the pressing challenge of increasing agricultural production while minimizing negative consequences on ecosystems and the global climate. Indonesia, which has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation while doubling production of several major agricultural commodities, exemplifies this challenge. Here we focus on palm oil, the world's most abundant vegetable oil and a commodity that has contributed significantly to Indonesia's economy. Most oil palm expansion in the country has occurred at the expense of forests, resulting in significant GHG emissions. We examine the extent to which land management policies can resolve the apparently conflicting goals of oil palm expansion and GHG mitigation in Kalimantan, a major oil palm growing region of Indonesia. Using a logistic regression model to predict the locations of new oil palm between 2010 and 2020 we evaluate the impacts of six alternative policy scenarios on future emissions. We estimate net emissions of 128.4-211.4 MtCO 2 yr -1 under business as usual expansion of oil palm plantations. The impact of diverting new plantations to low carbon stock land depends on the design of the policy. We estimate that emissions can be reduced by 9-10% by extending the current moratorium on new concessions in primary forests and peat lands, 35% by limiting expansion on all peat and forestlands, 46% by limiting expansion to areas with moderate carbon stocks, and 55-60% by limiting expansion to areas with low carbon stocks. Our results suggest that these policies would reduce oil palm profits only moderately but would vary greatly in terms of cost-effectiveness of emissions reductions. We conclude that a carefully designed and implemented oil palm expansion plan can contribute significantly towards Indonesia's national emissions mitigation goal, while allowing oil palm area to double.
  • Authors:
    • Hou,Yong
    • Ma,Lin
    • Sardi,Katalin
    • Sisak,Istvan
    • Ma,Wenqi
  • Source: Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems
  • Volume: 102
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2015
  • Summary: Nitrogen (N) emissions from food production can cause serious environmental problems. Mitigation strategies require insights of N cycles in this complex system. A substance flow analysis for N in the Hungary food production and processing chain over the period 1961-2010 was conducted. Our results show that the history of the total N input and output for the Hungary food chain consists of four distinct periods: 1961-1974 a rapid increase; 1974-1988 a steady increase; 1988-1992 a sharp decrease; 1992-2010 a period of large annual variations. The total N input to the food chain largely depended on N fertilizer input (on average 83 % of total input). Nitrogen losses were the largest outflows, particularly via ammonia emissions and denitrification from agricultural systems. The N use efficiency (NUE) for crop production sharply decreased from 1961 to 1974, but went up since the late 1980s. The NUE of animal production increased from 11 % in 1961 to 20 % in 2010. The N cost of food production in Hungary largely varied from 3 to 10 kg kg(-1) during 1961-2010, which was related to changes in fertilizer use and human dietary preferences. Increased dependence of crop yield on weather was observed since the early 1990s where large decrease in N fertilizer use occurred. The observed weather-dependence has resulted in large yearly variations in crop yields, the NUE of crop production and also the food N cost, which may pose a threat to food security of Hungary.
  • Authors:
    • Mahdavi, B.
    • Modarres-Sanavy, S. A. M.
    • Dehshiri, A.
  • Source: Agronomy Article
  • Volume: 61
  • Issue: 10
  • Year: 2015
  • Summary: This study was done to evaluate the effects of increasing concentrations of CO2 (CC) on rapeseed. Pot experiments were done with three cultivars (Okapi, Zarfam and RGS003) of rapeseed (Brassica napus) for salinity tolerance. Four levels of salinity (0, 5, 10 and 15dS m(-1)) were tested on the three cultivars at three CC (350, 700 and 1050mmolL(-1)) at the greenhouse of Tarbiat Modares University, Iran, during the crop seasons of 2010 to 2011. Three CCs were considered as three environments and the other two treatments (salinity and cultivar) were tested within these environments in a complete block design arranged as a factorial. Results indicated that photosynthetic rates declined with increasing levels of salinity. Elevated CC significantly increased rates of photosynthesis. The highest CC reduced the impact of salinity on photosynthesis. Increased CC reduced the rate of transpiration, which had the effects of increasing rates of photosynthesis and water use efficiency (WUE); these effects increased vegetative growth and reduced the adverse effects of salinity. Increased CC and salinity reduced harvest index. WUE increased with CC increment, and decreased with salinity elevation.
  • Authors:
    • Guillaume,T.
    • Damris,M.
    • Kuzyakov,Y.
  • Source: Global Change Biology
  • Volume: 21
  • Issue: 9
  • Year: 2015
  • Summary: Indonesia lost more tropical forest than all of Brazil in 2012, mainly driven by the rubber, oil palm, and timber industries. Nonetheless, the effects of converting forest to oil palm and rubber plantations on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks remain unclear. We analyzed SOC losses after lowland rainforest conversion to oil palm, intensive rubber, and extensive rubber plantations in Jambi Province on Sumatra Island. The focus was on two processes: (1) erosion and (2) decomposition of soil organic matter. Carbon contents in the Ah horizon under oil palm and rubber plantations were strongly reduced up to 70% and 62%, respectively. The decrease was lower under extensive rubber plantations (41%). On average, converting forest to plantations led to a loss of 10 Mg C ha -1 after about 15 years of conversion. The C content in the subsoil was similar under the forest and the plantations. We therefore assumed that a shift to higher delta 13C values in plantation subsoil corresponds to the losses from the upper soil layer by erosion. Erosion was estimated by comparing the delta 13C profiles in the soils under forest and under plantations. The estimated erosion was the strongest in oil palm (358 cm) and rubber (3310 cm) plantations. The 13C enrichment of SOC used as a proxy of its turnover indicates a decrease of SOC decomposition rate in the Ah horizon under oil palm plantations after forest conversion. Nonetheless, based on the lack of C input from litter, we expect further losses of SOC in oil palm plantations, which are a less sustainable land use compared to rubber plantations. We conclude that delta 13C depth profiles may be a powerful tool to disentangle soil erosion and SOC mineralization after the conversion of natural ecosystems conversion to intensive plantations when soils show gradual increase of delta 13C values with depth.
  • Authors:
    • Cardona Alzate, C. A.
    • Rincón-Pérez, L. E.
    • Valencia-Botero, M. J.
  • Source: Ingeniería y Universidad
  • Volume: 18
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2014
  • Summary: The bioenergy (especially biofuels) production and use has been worldly encouraged as a possible solution for the energy crisis caused by fossil fuel extraction and burnt. However, some intrinsic features of the biofuels supply chain generate notable uncertainties. The land use change can be considered a key issue of the feedstock production stage. In this work, the carbon replacement time was calculated for the cases of the oil palm growing in soils for forest, degraded lands and marginal lands. Most cultivated lands are required to increase the biodiesel production in Colombia. Additionally, the greenhouse gas emission from the land use change was calculated, when the palm crops are extended to achieve B20 blends. The results indicated that the palm crop growing on degraded and marginal lands, as well as palm cultivated in Eastern zone, do not generate carbon debt. Moreover, oil palm growing under these conditions helps to increase the carbon captures of these lands. The Eastern zone shows the highest carbon capture power.
  • Authors:
    • Acevedo, H.
    • Castanheira, E. G.
    • Freire, F.
  • Source: Applied Energy
  • Volume: 114
  • Year: 2014
  • Summary: The main goal of this article is to assess the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of palm oil produced in a specific plantation and mill in Colombia. A comprehensive evaluation of the implications of alternative land use change (LUC) scenarios (forest, shrubland, savanna and cropland conversion) and fertilization schemes (four synthetic and one organic nitrogen-fertilizer) was performed. A sensitivity analysis to field nitrous oxide emission calculation, biogas management options at mill, time horizon considered for global warming and multifunctionality approach were also performed. The results showed that the GHG intensity of palm oil greatly depends on the LUC scenario. Significant differences were observed between the LUC scenarios (-3.0 to 5.3 kg CO(2)eq kg(-1) palm oil). The highest result is obtained if tropical rainforest is converted and the lowest if palm is planted on previous cropland, savanna and shrubland, in which almost all LUC from Colombian oil palm area expansion occurred between 1990 and 2009. Concerning plantation and oil extraction, it was shown that field nitrous oxide emissions and biogas management options have a high influence on GHG emissions.
  • Authors:
    • Perluss, P.
    • Drouvot, H.
    • Drouvot, C.
  • Source: International Journal of Sustainable Development
  • Volume: 17
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2014
  • Summary: With the objective to offer contributions to resolve ecological, social and economic problems in Amazonia, Brazil's sustainable production of palm oil legislation has the specific goal of mobilising public administrations, private business, social aid agencies and family farmers with the following overall objectives: create employment and increase income by means of palm cultivation; reforest degraded lands in the Amazon (Margulis, 2004); contribute to carbon storage with the goal of reducing greenhouse gases; and induce family farmers to participate in the programme and thus favour their social inclusion. The study is based on information from documentary research undertaken to identify and a series of regionally-based interviews. Our research reveals that the national programme has mobilised a range of stakeholders (governments, firms, universities and NGOs) and small farmers' associations.