The Effects of Biochar and Chicken Manure Application on Red Ginger (Zingiber Officinale Rosc.) Growth and Yield of Semi Paludiculture in Tropical Peatlands

The research was conducted to determine the influence of growth and yield of red ginger plants by applying the combination of biochar palm oil and chicken manure in a semi-paludiculture planting system on peatland. The design used in this study is the Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 4x4 factors and with a three repetitions factor. The first treatment factors are oil palm shell biochar with control treatment, 5 t ha-1, 10 t ha-1 and 15 t ha-1 and the second factor is chicken manure with control treatment, 5 t ha-1, 10 t ha-1 and 15 t ha-1. The research was conducted in Tanjung Taruna Village, Jabiren Raya Sub-district, Pulang Pisau Regency. The research was conducted from December 2018 until April 2019. The results showed that the interaction occurred in both factors, on the plant variable's height and the highest yield from the introduction of chicken manure 10 t ha-1 and the biochar 15 t ha-1. The interaction of biochar palm oil shells on growth and yield of ginger plants only occur in plant variable height and the samplings at 8, 10, and 14 weeks after planting. While the chicken manure has real effect on ginger plants' growth and yield in all observation variables

A sustainable way of agricultural livelihood: edible bird’s nests in Indonesia

Edible birds’ nests (EBNs) have traditionally been produced in Southeast Asia. Indonesian farmers construct buildings for swiftlets and harvest their nests. EBN farming does not directly degrade forest resources and is therefore considered a sustainable means of production, whereas the expansion of other agricultural activities often relies on the degradation of natural resources. This study examines the relationship between natural resources and agricultural livelihoods, focusing on Indonesian EBN farmers. Using survey data that we ollected in 2017, combined with satellite information on the extent of the forest in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, we measured production efficiency and identified the natural and social factors that enhance production performance. The results show that a forest extent ranging between 2,000 and 6,000 meters from nesting building is positively associated with the production efficiency of EBN farming, perhaps because extensive forest could help swiftlets to collect food and build nests. Conversely, while EBN farming is a sustainable and profitable option, the initial costs of constructing buildings to house swiftlets may deter farmers from participating in the process

Recent Forest and Peat Fire Trends in Indonesia The Latest Decade by MODIS Hotspot Data

The worse air pollution due to haze from fires occurred in the Southeast Asia during the strongest 1997-1998 El Niño event in the last century. The dense haze came from forest and peat fires mainly occurred in Indonesia. Recent fires in Indonesia have become an annual phenomenon nevertheless rapid deforestation rate showed declined trend. In addition, Indonesia formally admitted very large amount of CO2 emission mostly from fires and deforestation (about 3.01 billion tonnes after the United States). Indonesia is now requested to reduce air pollution due to haze and carbon emissions at the same time. For an execution of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus) in Indonesia, it is also essential to develop an effective firefighting strategy. In this paper, recent hotspot data captured by NASA MODIS from 2002 to 2010 was analyzed to grasp the recent fire trend in the whole Indonesia. As Indonesia is not so small country, various grid sizes utilizing latitude and longitude angles from 1x1 to 0.01x0.01 degrees were used for various analysis purposes. Analysis results using one degree grids clearly showed the highest hotspot density areas in Indonesia located in Kalimantan and Sumatra Islands. Among them, One of the Mega Rice Project (MRP) regions (grid center:south latitude 3o, east longitude 114o) showed extremely high hotspot density, 0.188hotspots/km2/year. Two regions in Riau and South Sumatra of Sumatra Island followed the MRP area and their hotspot densities were 0.111 and 0.106 hotspots/km2/year, respectively. Other high hotspot density regions were mostly found in deforested area on peat. Analysis results on seasonality of peat fire showed strong correlation with El Niño event. Finally, the authors are now proposing an effective fire forecast method based on recent fire trend in Indonesia

Climate Change Mitigation Through Forest Fire Prevention and Peatland Rewetting Programs in Central Kalimantan Indonesia

Peat forest plays a principal role in climate change mitigation in Indonesia. Considering the potential releases of GHGs from a forest fire and degraded peatland, it is important to conserve peatland forests. Besides being essential for ecological balancing, the role of peatland forest expands to the economic and social aspects. The purpose of this research was to calculate $CO_2$ emissions that can be avoided by the community-based fire prevention and rewetting program. This research utilized spatial analysis to calculated avoided $CO_2$ emissions in six villages in Central Kalimantan. Data and information for the calculation were generated from field observations, interviews, and desk study. Spatial analysis using Arc GIS 10.5 was applied to compute the incombustible areas. The result from the analysis found that fire prevention and rewetting programs managed to prevent approximately 1 million Mg C or equivalent to 3.7 million $CO_2$. The program managed to prevent emission from the vulnerable area including swamp shrubs, plantations and dry land agriculture. The finding of this study suggests that community-based fire prevention and peatland rewetting programs could become a strategic program in climate change mitigation in Indonesia

The impact of climate change on community, culture, and gender in Central Kalimantan

The impacts of climate change in the last decade are tropical storms, rising sea levels, and forest fires. These impacts damage human health, natural resources, and gender equality. This study aimed to identify the effects of climate change in the community, cultural development, and gender roles in addressing climate change in Central Kalimantan. This study used a cross-sectional design with questionnaires. Data collection was carried out using interview and observation techniques with a purposive sampling method. Interviews were conducted with 30 respondents in each district. The results of the study showed that the community has long felt climate change in Central Kalimantan. Still, they do not yet understand that changes in rainfall and temperature patterns reduce environmental conditions and forests’ function to support daily life. The openness of access to natural resources for women gives the responsibility of maintaining families during climate change, for example, utilizing plants to be used as weaving material in managing wet and dry forest ecosystems that increase deforestation rates. In the future, stakeholders, including regional government, will issue policies that protect women’s rights and interests to ensure that women get the same access and benefits related to information and decision-making, especially in natural resources management

Analysing Causal Factors of Peatland Wildfires: A Knowledge-based Approach

When dealing with environmental problems, complexity and uncertainty have become barriers to obtaining reliable information to facilitate good decision-making in fire prevention. This paper proposes and tests a workflow to build the structure of a causal model as a decision support system for fire prone peatlands. We extend the generic process of developing a causal model by incorporating knowledge gained from the literatures and from human experts. We outline the process of automatically generating the relevant variables through literature reviews and constructing a causal model using an online survey and discussions with domain experts. We demonstrate that the structure of the causal model developed can provide logical inferences on the spatial and temporal behaviours of these wildfires