Developing Efficient Bacterial Consortia to Enhance the Biodegradation of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) and Sawdust Lignocelluloses Waste

Empty fruit bunch (EFB) is the lignocellulosic by-product from the oil palm plantation. Without efficient management, EFB could be problematic to the environment. This study aims to develop the microbial consortium for an efficient biodegradation of EFB through windrow composting. Three microbial isolates, Bacillus licheniformis P7, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens UMAS1002, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa IP2 were tested on their ability to degrade EFB based on the parameter time of incubation for 14 days and parameters pH and percentage of inoculums for 10 days. The reducing sugar produced was determined by using Dinitrosalicylic (DNS) method. The best bacterial consortium was inoculated every 10 days of 30-days of EFB composting with uninoculated compost as control. On day 30, the moisture content of inoculated compost is 109.82% with dry mass 0.478 g. The pH is alkaline at 9.68 with bacterial count at 229 × 107 CFU/μl, both lower than control. The reducing sugar produced is 0.477 mg/ml, higher than control and Germination Index (GI) at 1.12 is lower than control. Bacterial consortium AB, consisting of B.amyloliquefaciens UMAS1002 and B.licheniformis P7 is the best microbial consortium developed for EFB degradation. Inoculation of this consortium into EFB compost has less effect in EFB degradation

AN ASSESSMENT OF LAND USE SURROUNDING HYDROPOWER RESERVOIRS USING REMOTE SENSING IN SARAWAK, MALAYSIA

The existence of a complex river system in Sarawak has contributed to the abundance of its water resources. The State is drained by 22 major river basins and has a combined installed capacity of hydropower potentials of approximately 20,000 MW of sustainable energy. However, little has been documented on land use around these hydropower dams. The current study is aimed at understanding the general land usecomposition surrounding the existing and planned hydropower reservoirs in Sarawak. The land uses surrounding these dams are expected to influence the livelihood, water discharge and water quality of the dams. A total of ten sites were selected and land use surrounding these study sites identified using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System tools. Temporal assessment on land-use changes was only conducted for Batang Ai. The study found that a total of six sites have higher forest cover (> 50%) compared to built-up and agricultural lands and showed that 85% variation in built-up land is explained by reservoir area. Agricultural land has increased at the mean rate of 2.25% within 500 metres distance from Batang Ai reservoir shoreline. The findings of this study will hopefully contribute to the knowledge of hydropower reservoir planning and management