Managing Oil Palm Plantations More Sustainably: Large-Scale Experiments Within the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) Programme

Conversion of tropical forest to agriculture results in reduced habitat heterogeneity, and associated declines in biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Management strategies to increase biodiversity in agricultural landscapes have therefore often focused on increasing habitat complexity; however, the large-scale, long-term ecological experiments that are needed to test the effects of these strategies are rare in tropical systems. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)—one of the most widespread and important tropical crops—offers substantial potential for developing wildlife-friendly management strategies because of its long rotation cycles and tree-like structure. Although there is awareness of the need to increase sustainability, practical options for how best to manage oil palm plantations, for benefits to both the environment and crop productivity, have received little research attention. In this paper we introduce the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) Programme: a long-term research collaboration between academia and industry in Sumatra, Indonesia. The BEFTA Programme aims to better understand the oil palm agroecosystem and test sustainability strategies. We hypothesise that adjustments to oil palm management could increase structural complexity, stabilize microclimate, and reduce reliance on chemical inputs, thereby helping to improve levels of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. The Programme has established four major components: (1) assessing variability within the plantation under business-as-usual conditions; (2) the BEFTA Understory Vegetation Project, which tests the effects of varying herbicide regimes; (3) the Riparian Ecosystem Restoration in Tropical Agriculture (RERTA) Project, which tests strategies for restoring riparian habitat; and (4) support for additional collaborative projects within the Programme landscape. Across all projects, we are measuring environmental conditions, biodiversity, and ecosystem functions. We also measure oil palm yield and production costs, in order to assess whether suggested sustainability strategies are feasible from an agronomic perspective. Early results show that oil palm plantation habitat is more variable than might be expected from a monoculture crop, and that everyday vegetation management decisions have significant impacts on habitat structure. The BEFTA Programme highlights the value of large-scale collaborative projects for understanding tropical agricultural systems, and offers a highly valuable experimental set-up for improving our understanding of practices to manage oil palm more sustainably.This work was funded by The Isaac Newton Trust Cambridge, Golden Agri Resources, ICOPE (the International Conference on Oil Palm and the Environment), and the Natural Environment Research Council [grant number NE/P00458X/1]

Managing Oil Palm Plantations More Sustainably: Large-Scale Experiments Within the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) Programme

Conversion of tropical forest to agriculture results in reduced habitat heterogeneity, and associated declines in biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Management strategies to increase biodiversity in agricultural landscapes have therefore often focused on increasing habitat complexity; however, the large-scale, long-term ecological experiments that are needed to test the effects of these strategies are rare in tropical systems. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)—one of the most widespread and important tropical crops—offers substantial potential for developing wildlife-friendly management strategies because of its long rotation cycles and tree-like structure. Although there is awareness of the need to increase sustainability, practical options for how best to manage oil palm plantations, for benefits to both the environment and crop productivity, have received little research attention. In this paper we introduce the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) Programme: a long-term research collaboration between academia and industry in Sumatra, Indonesia. The BEFTA Programme aims to better understand the oil palm agroecosystem and test sustainability strategies. We hypothesise that adjustments to oil palm management could increase structural complexity, stabilise microclimate, and reduce reliance on chemical inputs, thereby helping to improve levels of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. The Programme has established four major components: (1) assessing variability within the plantation under business-as-usual conditions; (2) the BEFTA Understory Vegetation Project, which tests the effects of varying herbicide regimes; (3) the Riparian Ecosystem Restoration in Tropical Agriculture (RERTA) Project, which tests strategies for restoring riparian habitat; and (4) support for additional collaborative projects within the Programme landscape. Across all projects, we are measuring environmental conditions, biodiversity, and ecosystem functions. We also measure oil palm yield and production costs, in order to assess whether suggested sustainability strategies are feasible from an agronomic perspective. Early results show that oil palm plantation habitat is more variable than might be expected from a monoculture crop, and that everyday vegetation management decisions have significant impacts on habitat structure. The BEFTA Programme highlights the value of large-scale collaborative projects for understanding tropical agricultural systems, and offers a highly valuable experimental set-up for improving our understanding of practices to manage oil palm more sustainably

Scoping review of indicators and methods of measurement used to evaluate the impact of dog population management interventions

Background: Dogs are ubiquitous in human society and attempts to manage their populations are common to most countries. Managing dog populations is achieved through a range of interventions to suit the dog population dynamics and dog ownership characteristics of the location, with a number of potential impacts or goals in mind. Impact assessment provides the opportunity for interventions to identify areas of inefficiencies for improvement and build evidence of positive change. Methods: This scoping review collates 26 studies that have assessed the impacts of dog population management interventions. Results: It reports the use of 29 indicators of change under 8 categories of impact and describes variation in the methods used to measure these indicators. Conclusion: The relatively few published examples of impact assessment in dog population management suggest this field is in its infancy; however this review highlights those notable exceptions. By describing those indicators and methods of measurement that have been reported thus far, and apparent barriers to efficient assessment, this review aims to support and direct future impact assessment

Pengaruh Hydrilla Verticillata Dan Nacl Terhadap Pertumbuhan Serta Produksi Tanaman Lokio (Allium Chinense)

The aim of the study was to determine the main interaction and effect of hydrilla veticillata and NaCl on the growth and production of chives. This research has been carried out in the experimental garden of the Faculty of Agriculture, Riau Islamic University, Jalan Kaharudin Nasution KM 11, Air Cold Village, Bukit Raya District, Pekanbaru City, the research was carried out for 3 months, starting from February to April 2021. The design used in this study is a factorial Completely Randomized Design consisting of two factors. The first factor was the administration of Hydrilla verticilata with 4 levels of treatment, namely without treatment, 0.5 kg/plot, 1 kg/plot and 1.5 kg/plot, while the second factor was NaCl with 4 levels of treatment, namely without treatment, 50 g/plot. , 100 g/plot and 150 g/plot, so there are 16 treatment combinations. Each treatment consisted of 3 replications so that 48 experimental units (plots) were obtained. Parameters observed were plant height, relative growth rate (LPR), net assimilation rate (LAB), age of harvest, number of tubers per clump, wet weight of tubers per clump, dry weight of tubers per clump, and fresh production per plot. The data obtained were analyzed for variance and then continued with the significant difference test (BNJ) at the 5% level. The results showed that the interaction between the administration of Hydrilla Verticillata and NaCl was significant on the relative growth rate of ages 14-7 and 21-14, net assimilation rate, number of tubers, wet weight, dry weight and fresh production per plot. Where the best treatment is Hydrilla verticillata 1.5 kg/plot and NaCl 150 g/plot. The main effect of Hydrilla verticillata was significant on all observation parameters

Field survey of tsunami heights and runups following the 22 December 2018 Anak Krakatau volcano tsunami, Indonesia

The Royal Society, the United Kingdo

Implementation of higher order thinking laboratory (HOTLAB) on magnetic field with real blended virtual laboratory to improve students critical thinking skills

The 21st century demands critical thinking skills, problem solving, and communication skills, so physics education students must be prepared to have these skills in the current industrial 4.0 era. These skills can be trained and developed through Higher Order Thinking Laboratory (HOT-LAB) activities. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of the HOT-LAB laboratory type on the improvement of critical thinking skills on the concept of magnetic fields. This research uses One Group Pretest-Posttest Design. The instrument uses questions of practical understanding and understanding of 10 questions. The results of data analysis showed that the average N-Gain score for the experimental class was 45.3 and the control class was 35.7. The use of HOTLAB in a real blended virtual laboratory has moderate effectiveness to improve Critical Thinking Skills on the subject of magnetic fiel

Program P2H (Pencegahan Penyakit Hipertensi) Dalam Upaya Menciptakan Lansia Bebas Hipertensi Di RW 03 Desa Mranggen, Kec. Mranggen, Kab. Demak

Hipertensi merupakan salah satu masalah kesehatan yang umum dialami oleh masyarakat di seluruh dunia, hal tersebut disebabkan oleh pola hidup (life style) yang tidak sehat. Hipertensi ditandai dengan adanya peningkatan tekanan darah sistolik > 140 mmhg dan diastolik > 90 mmhg sehingga hal ini dapat mengakibatkan peningkatan angka mordibitas (kesakitan) dan angka mortalitas (kematian). Untuk menurunkan angka tersebut maka perlu adanya satu tindakan pencegahan dini berupa upaya promotif melalui pendidikan kesehatan guna meningkatkan pengetahuan dan mencegah resiko terjadinya hipertensi. Pendidikan kesehatan merupakan satu tindakan promotif yang dilakukan dengan penyampaian informasi berupa topik seputar masalah kesehatan dengan memanfaatkan berbagai macam media. Metode yang digunakan dalam pengabdian masyarakat ini adalah penyuluhan kesehatan serta menggunakan pendekatan asuhan keperawatan dengan desain pre test dan post test. Hasil yang didapatkan dari kegiatan pendidikan kesehatan hipertensi menunjukkan bahwa nilai rata – rata pre test 59% sedangkan post test 88%. Hasil tersebut menandakan bahwa adanya dampak positif berupa perubahan pengetahuan responden sebelum dan sesudah mengikuti pendidikan kesehatan. Disarankan kepada pihak – pihak setempat agar dapat membangun koordinasi dengan puskesmas dan perangkat desa setempat dalam memaksimalkan kegiatan penyuluhan tentang hipertensi serta dapat mengaktifkan kembali posyandu lansia yang belum terbentuk