Assessment, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Forest Biodiversity

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Conservation and Sustainable Use (sustainable forest management) 21 TOWARDS AN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH IN DESIGNING LARGE-SCALE INDUSTRIAL PLANTATION LANDSCAPES: CORRIDORS FOR A WIN-WIN SOLUTION John Grynderup Poulsen Center for International Forestry Research P.O. Box 6596 JKPWB Jakarta 10065 Indonesia E-mail: J.Poulsen@cgiar.org Keywords: ecosystem approach, industrial plantations, landscape-level design, natural forest corridors, set-asides, connectivity, local communities, biodiversity conservation, profitability of plantations, company-community conflicts, mitigation of negative social and ecological impacts Introduction Tropical plantations are rapidly expanding as a source of industrial wood and fuel. Plantations, as currently managed (structurally simple forests; mono-culture) may directly contribute to fragmentary processes on a landscape level, by reducing the inter-connectivity of natural/native vegetation patches. Corridors are extensively used in ecological restoration initiatives to alleviate the detrimental effects of fragmentation by restoring landscape inter-connectivity and returning a level of integrity and resilience. Given current rates of environmental transformation and increasing dependency on plantation forestry within the humid tropical zone, further scientific inquiry into the potential environmental, ecological, and human benefits provided by corridors is crucial. In a plantation context, corridors have mostly been considered by plantation owners as merely constraints to maximizing short-term earnings. In this study, I explore whether and how corridors (and other patches set aside from production) may be used to balance the goals of sustainable production of plantations with maintenance of biodiversity. Potential short-term economic incentives and benefits include: minimizing plantation damage caused by wind throw, fire, and insect pest attack (by functioning as windbreaks, firebreaks, providing habitat for biological control organisms, and as barriers to invasives, respectively), protecting and maintaining water quality and supply to both the plantation stands and the people living there, providing resources such as beneficial plants, and other NTFPs - for people living within and around the plantation landscape. Methodological Approach The specific study was conducted in central Sumatra, Indonesia, in an area developed for large-scale industrial plantations. The research design was strategic in nature, therefore – in principle - making the research results generally applicable. The plantation landscape managed by the company (i.e., the concession) consisted of several non-contiguous ‘sectors’, the area of which ranged from 10,000 ha to 60,000 ha. Each sector is somewhat independently managed, with overall control from the company headquarters. Each sector was stratified based on landscape patterns and vegetation type, followed by a random selection of 50 100ha sampling plots within each stratum (thereby maximizing the sampled range of those variables). Plots had identical shape (squared), size, and have random orientation and direction. A statistical power analysis was performed after pilot surveys, to ensure that an adequate number of plots were monitored. Comparative analyses focused on two key “landscape” variables: the proportion of total land set aside from production (ranging from 0% to 40% of the concession), and, the landscape level configuration of land set aside from plantations. These key independent variables were nested with respect to elevation/slope, general landscape pattern (other than the above), distance from national park boundary, and plantation productivity. 71
Assessment, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Forest Biodiversity Within each plot, one corridor was randomly selected. Each corridor was characterized with respect to management and design (condition, width, degree of connectedness to other green belts, distance to conservation areas, vertical structure, tree species composition, herbal/shrub composition). Biological surveys were conducted within the 100 ha plots. Profitability of the entire concession was also assessed based on stand and sector level data. Results Profitability of plantations The profitability of the plantation concession increased as an increasing proportion of the concession was set aside and retained as natural forest corridors, until a threshold of 25-30%, above which the profitability rapidly declined. Both pest incidence and the area damaged by wind, within plantation stands declined with increasing proportion of the concession set aside as natural forest corridors. Other factors, including fires and invasives, were of negligible economic impact upon the profitability of the plantation concession. Interests of local communities The density of the ten most important tree species currently used by local communities for non-timber purposes, increased linearly with increasing proportion of the concession in natural forest corridors. Conservation of biodiversity Density of primates, and number of primate species, both increased, initially linearly, and then asymptotically approached the maximum of the region as a whole, with increasing proportion of the concession set aside and retained as natural forest corridors. At 25-30% of the concession in natural forest corridors, 85-90% of the primate species and density thereof had been retained. Connectivity of corridors to other corridors and to larger areas of natural forest was critical: corridors not connected to other larger patches of natural forest, hosted no primates. Discussion Appropriate design and management of natural forest corridors and remnant patches can be used to mitigate or reduce the negative impacts of large-scale industrial plantations on native biodiversity and towards maintenance of environmental and social functions of the original natural forest landscape. The ecological and environmental services have substantial impacts on the profitability of the plantations. Recommendations and Lessons Learned First, plantation landscapes should be designed so that on the one hand, the landscapes are penetrable and permeable for those biodiversity components which are of conservation concern in the area under consideration, and on the other hand, impenetrable and impermeable for pests, weeds, and invasives. Second, from a human/social standpoint, priority must be to design plantation and manage landscapes in a way that minimizes the adverse impacts on the local people and communities living in and around these areas. This includes the importance of natural forests for the livelihoods of local people, both in terms of the resources that they can obtain from those areas, and from the environmental services, e.g., maintenance of good water quality. 72
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Assessment, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Forest Biodiversity

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