REESTABLISHING TYPICAL TREE SPECIES OF PEAT SWAMP FORESTS THROUGH RESTORATION EXPERIMENTS AND LOCAL COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN RIAU’S BIOSPHERE RESERVE, INDONESIA

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2014-05-22

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Abstract

The study was carried out in the Giam Siak Kecil-Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve, which covers a total area of 698,663 ha. Land conversion and poor management had resulted in a loss of almost 300,000 ha of natural peat swamp forest during 1998 to 2002. Illegal logging activities and natural disturbances occurred continuously. Forest and land fires occurred annually, especially in the dry season. Villagers converted the remaining natural peat swamp forest into jungle rubber gardens and oil palm plantations. Fragile and very unique ecosystem, continuously converted natural sites, large degraded peat swamp forests, poor natural regeneration performance are some of these factors that will influence efforts to promote sustainable management of peat swamp forest ecosystem in this Biosphere. Therefore integrated study combined human aspect assessment and ecology are important to be done. The objective of study was (1) to re-establish typical tree species of peat swamp forest, (2) to determine a mechanism or direction in order to local people and wider stakeholders involvement, and (3) to strengthen an efforts to promote sustainable management model of peat swamp forest in Riau’s Biosphere Reserve landscape. Restoration experiment was done in two different levels of forest and peatland degradation in the Bukit Batu conservation areas of Temiang Village and Tanjung Leban Village. Natural regeneration is an option for a faster recovery of forest vegetation after any disturbance. In the case of typical canopy species that could hardly undergo natural regeneration, some form of human-assisted regeneration is needed. Restoration targets the areas that could hardly undergo natural regeneration and would need human intervention such as planting. In general, survival rate of seedlings decrease after ten month planted. We planted tree species which have both economic values (i.e. timber and non-timber forest products) and ecosystem services values such as Dyera lowii, Tetramerista glabra, Callophylum lowii, Palaquium sumatranum, Palaquium burckii, and Cratoxylon arborescens. More than their potential to generate income from carbon storage and other ecosystem services. Preliminary results show that the greatest performance of trees planted is Cratoxylon arborescens followed Tetramerista glabra. Given the high cost in restoring ecosystem, financing is crucial and a way forward is to optimize and promote various sources; domestics (e.g., Village Conservation Model, Biovillage and GERHAN= The Indonesian Movement of Forest and Land Rehabilitation mechanism) and even international (e.g. REDD+) and CSR schemes. All support should help establish a management model that the local community could do and support continuously.

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local people, peat swamp forest, Riau’s biosphere reserve, restoration

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