Knowledge Management System For Forest and Land Fire Mitigation in Indonesia: A Web-Based Application Development

Forest and land fires in Indonesia have serious impacts on many aspects, including the environment, health, economy, politics, and international relations. They cause haze pollution that extends to neighboring countries and peatland degradation. Despite extensive research and mitigation efforts, forest and land fires continue to occur and cost lives. Therefore, effective management and mitigation strategies are required. This research developed a web-based knowledge management system (KMS) using the Laravel framework as an effective forest and land fire mitigation platform. The KMS aims to support decision-making, facilitate knowledge exchange, improve coordination between stakeholders, and expand access to relevant information, while maintaining the sustainability of forest and land resources in Indonesia. The KMS evaluation results cover two important aspects: blackbox evaluation and performance evaluation. The blackbox evaluation showed that KMS provides knowledge retrieval features based on expert knowledge. The performance evaluation revealed that the KMS provides easy and quick access to information on forest and land fire prevention and management. Thus, this research has great potential to help overcome the problem of forest and land fires in Indonesia and protect the environment and society from their adverse effects

Economic Analysis of Forest Management for Timber Production and Agricultural Production in Hillside Watershed Areas of Madagascar: A Case Study of the Itasy Region

In hillside watersheds, forests play a crucial role in protecting against soil erosion. Not only does forest vegetation cover serve as a biological measure to prevent soil erosion, it also generates income through sustainable management practices. However, there is a scarcity of research that evaluates and compares the profitability of perennial woody crops with that of other agricultural crops by integrating biological aspects within an economic analytical framework in Central Madagascar. In this study, we address this gap by combining a biological growth model that captures complex forest dynamics with economic management data to utilize the discounted cash flow method. We applied this approach to evaluate and compare the profitability of forest management and agricultural crop production in the hillside watershed areas of Central Madagascar, which have experienced severe human-induced soil erosion. Although our results showed that timber production is a profitable option, other agricultural crops generate much higher profits, indicating that financial subsidies alone may not be enough to shift land use toward perennial woody crops. In addition, growing fruit trees such as oranges and mangoes appears to be a much more financially attractive option for local farmers than annual agricultural crop production

Risk Management Literacy Level among Oil Palm Smallholders in Malaysia

Risk management literacy is very important in influencing an individual's decision-making when taking preparatory steps to handle the anticipated risks. This includes oil palm smallholders who are constantly exposed to various types of risks. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the level of risk management literacy among oil palm smallholders in Malaysia. The data of the study was obtained from the online questionnaires distributed to oil palm smallholders using a random sampling method. The data obtained from the final sample of 200 smallholders were analyzed to examine the level of risk management literacy among palm oil smallholders using mean score analysis. The results found that the risk management literacy level among oil palm smallholders in Malaysia is at a moderately high level. Furthermore, mean score for the preference of saving instead of expenditure was the highest i.e. 4.40, indicating that smallholders possess high awareness on the importance of saving as one of the tools for risk management. The study’ findings allowed relevant authorities to formulate new programs such as training and awareness campaign of risk management, on continuous basis. It could assist smallholders to prepare for any potential risks and subsequently be able to create sustainable sources of income

Optimizing DNA Extraction and Selecting Suitable Regions for Biodiversity Assessment: A Study on Shorea leprosula

The extraction method plays a crucial role in obtaining high-quality DNA samples, which is indispensable for various molecular biology techniques and analyses, enabling a deeper comprehension of genetic information and biological processes. The objectives of the study were: a) to optimize the chloroplast DNA extraction protocol by comparing modified CTAB methods and GeneAid for both leaf and wood samples of Shorea leprosula, a major commercial timber species, and b) to identify a suitable cpDNA region that exhibits variability and universality across taxa. Total DNA was analyzed by gel electrophoresis followed by Sanger sequencing to determine the amplification success. The results revealed that trnL intron, trnL-trnF, and trnG yielded readable sequences of the expected length (maximum 586 bp, 480 bp, and 908 bp, respectively), while the rps 16 intron failed to assemble a contig. The petL-psbE region provided long readability for reverse sequences (769 bp) but not for the forward sequence (195 bp). Higher successful DNA extraction was achieved from the leaves compared to the woods. The lower sequencing quality may be attributed to suboptimal primer design, the structural features of the regions resulting from extensive repetitive sequences, and the suboptimal condition of the extraction method in eliminating wood chemical compounds

Front-matter

https://doi.org/10.7226/jtfm.30.1.f

Diversity of Collembola on Various Post-Rehabilitation Land Covers

The success of rehabilitation has altered environmental conditions from critical land to new habitats for living organisms. One of the representative and sensitive mesofauna to environmental changes is Collembola. Various vegetation cover almost all of the rehabilitation area, which has impacts on microclimate and soil quality as important factors to Collembola existence. This study investigated the diversity and abundance of Collembola and its relation to environmental factors on various land covers, including teak, grass, and mixed stand land cover. Data were collected in an observation plot of 20 m × 20 m using purposive samples, including environmental measurements, Collembola collection, and soil samples for physical and chemical analysis. The results showed that different land covers affected the abundance and diversity of Collembola, even though the statistical analyses of TLC, GLC, and MLC were not significantly different. However, TLC has a higher litter thickness and organic material than the other land cover types. A few families of Collembola, such as Cyphoderidae, Brachystomellidae, Katiannidae, Isotomidae, Oncopoduridae, and Isotogastruridae, show their correlation to climatic and edaphic factors in a certain land cover

Land Use, Built-Up, and Vegetation Index in North Halmahera Regency through Spatio-Temporal Analysis

Monitoring land use, buildings, and vegetation index of ecotourism areas in North Halmahera can support planning space utilization in urban areas for tourist areas as the concept of land use management and urban planning. This study offers ideas for analyzing the distribution of buildings, vegetation index, and land use in the mangrove ecotourism area of North Halmahera Regency using the spatio-temporal analysis method. The spatio-temporal analysis method comprises several stages: data selection, preprocessing, data integration, spatial analysis, temporal analysis, spatio-temporal analysis, data visualization, interpretation and understanding, and data visualization. The results of this study show that changes in the livelihood strategy of local people, from farmers and fishermen to traders, also affect land use patterns, from agricultural activities to economic activities, which triggers an increase in the number of buildings for production activities to product distribution. The implications of these findings on ecotourism development programs and policies and infrastructure development in the North Halmahera Regency are to consider community livelihoods and space or land use behavior in ecotourism areas based on vegetation, soil, and building index values. Thus, the intensification of building distribution and changes in vegetation index values from 2013-2023 reflect changes in people's livelihood strategies from agrarian activities to trade and from fishermen's activities to tourism transportation service providers. &nbsp

Growth, Yield, and Stem Quality of Tectona grandis Grown with Different Spacings at Longuza Forest Plantation, Tanzania

Spacing is a silvicultural practice that affects the growth of trees in forest plantations. However, the yield depends on growth, which is determined by spacing. In addition, spacing influences the quantity of the final crop available for harvesting, specifically in forest plantations for sawlog production. Spacing is also used as a management practice to control the quality of trees, as dense stands are expected to have trees with good stem quality. However, little has been done to address the effects of spacing on the growth, yield, and stem quality of Tectona grandis until final harvesting age. Teak plantations in Tanzania are grown at a rotation age of 20 years. Thus, this study aimed to assess the effect of spacing on the growth, yield, and stem quality of 24-year-old T. grandis in a Longuza Forest plantation in Muheza, Tanzania. Data were collected from a spacing trial using a randomized complete block design with three treatments: 2 m × 2 m, 3 × 3 m, and 4 m × 4 m, with three replications. The growth and yield parameters assessed were diameter at breast height (dbh) total tree height, and stem quality. Data were analyzed to obtain the basal area, volume, and mean annual increment. Statistical analysis was performed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple comparisons among treatment means were performed using Tukey's honest significant difference test (p-value = 0.05). The results showed that spacing did not significantly affect growth and yield parameters. The stem quality was significantly different in some treatments. The highest dbh and height growth were observed at 4 m× 4 m spacing. The highest values of basal area, volume, and mean annual increment were observed at a 3 m× 3 m spacing. Stem quality differed significantly between the 2 m× 2 m and 4 m× 4 m spacings. Because teak plantations in Tanzania are aimed at sawlog production, it is recommended to continue practising a spacing of 3 m× 3 m, which will ensure a higher mean annual increment with a higher volume at the stand level. In addition, a spacing of 3 m × 3 m ensured a higher percentage of trees with good stem quality

Growth of Betung Bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper) and Food Crop Production Under Agroforestry Bamboo Systems

One of the main species in community forests is betung bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper). Optimizing land use under bamboo can be achieved by cultivating food crops. This research aimed to determine the growth of betung bamboo and the production of food crops. The experimental design used a split plot design with four cultivation patterns as the main plots: agroforestry bamboo pattern i.e. agroforestry bamboo + rice (P1), agroforestry bamboo + rice + cassava (P2), agroforestry bamboo + rice + taro (P3), and mixed food crops (rice + cassava + taro) (P4), while the subplots were rice varieties: rindang 2 (V1), protani (V2), and unsoed (V3). The observed parameters were bamboo growth, soil fertility, and food crop production. The results showed that seven-year-old betung bamboo had an average of 6.01 mature stems per clump, an average plant height of 7.23 m, and a stem diameter of 7.12 cm. The numbers of young stems and shoots per clump was 1.45 and 3.71. The highest betung bamboo growth was in the agroforestry pattern (length: 8,49 m, diameter: 7.17 cm, thickness: 1.95, total weight: 21.31 kg). The highest rice yield was observed in the P2V1 treatment (4.17 kg). The highest cassava tuber yield per plant was observed in P4 (2.12 kg). The taro tuber yield was relatively higher in the agroforestry pattern with a distance of >1 m from the bamboo clump (0.52 kg plant-1). The land equivalent ratio (LER) and area time equivalent ratio (ATER) of bamboo and food crop agroforestry have a value above 1, so it is more efficient in land

Potential Criteria to Determine a Waqf-Based Forest Location: Case Study: Bogor Waqf Forest, Bogor, Indonesia

Waqf-based forests can conserve the forest ecosystem by applying waqf principles. This initiative has been implemented in several places in Indonesia. The limited funds available for waqf-based forest development require nazhir to carefully choose the best location so that the asset can function optimally. However, no specific research has been conducted to guide the selection of the best location for this purpose. This study aimed to identify potential criteria to help determine the best site for developing a waqf-based forest. Several methods were used to collect the necessary data, including literature reviews, in-depth interviews, field observations, and focus group discussions. This study identifies four crucial criteria when selecting the best locations: a) legal, b) physical and biophysical, c) high conservation value and benefits, and d) management. In addition, each criterion has sub-criteria. Among all, legal issues receive the highest highlight as unresolved regulations can affect a forest's ownership and function. This study was the first to discuss these criteria. Future research should quantify the criteria suggested using GIS and conduct more field observations in existing waqf-based forests in Indonesia