ENHANCED PROCESSES OF NATURAL REGENERATION ON DEGRADED PEAT SWAMP FORESTS IN RIAU BIOSPHERE RESERVE, SUMATRA INDONESIA

Abstract

Regeneration is key to the existence of species in a community. It is also a critical component of forest management because regeneration maintains the desired species composition and stocking after biotic and abiotic disturbances. Study was carried out in Riau Biosphere Reserve in which around 75% of areas covered by peatland. Total sampling plot was 3 ha. We laid 144 subplot of 2x2 m for assessing natural regeneration in logged over forest and wind-burnt disturbed forest. Palaquium sumatranum and Calophylum lowii are both important upper-storey species in the Sumatran peat swamp forest vegetation community. Therefore, the regeneration of these species should promote similar species dominance in disturbed forest areas in the future. Regeneration is very important for improving the condition of disturbed peat swamp forest areas in the Riau Biosphere Reserve, but natural regeneration will not be sufficient to restore the forest vegetation and conserve the associated biodiversity. Some form of human-assisted accelerated regeneration will be needed, such as restoring of typical canopy species that have problems with establishment. The preliminary results indicate that some species of Cratoxylon arborescens, Palaquium sumatranum, Palaquium burckii, and Tetramerista glabra were promising species for rehabilitating degraded peat swamp forest areas shown by high survival rates in the range of 73.3 to 100%. The greatest growth performance are Cratoxylon arborescens, then followed by Tetramerista glabra. Enhanced processes of natural regeneration by restoring degaraded peat swamp forest should promote ecosystem services (e.g. carbon sequestration potential and conservation) and rural livelihoods