Mitigating Carbon Emissions of Community Palm Plantations on Peatland

Abstract

Increasing smallholder oil palm plantation activities on peatlands has become a challenge in achieving carbon emission reduction targets.The contradiction between the value of carbon emissions released and the carbon absorption capacity of oil palm plants needs to be known. This research the aim is to determine the value of lost emissions and the capacity to absorb carbon due to smallholder oil palm plantation activities on peatlands. So it can be a consideration in formulating carbon emission mitigation efforts in smallholder oil palm plantations on peatlands. The research was carried out descriptively using a spatial approach and field surveys on smallholder oil palm plantations on peatlands in Riau Province. Spatial analysis was carried out to determine the value of emissions lost due to changes in land cover. A field survey was carried out to measure absorption and emission values in several age classes of smallholder oil palm plantations. The research results found that carbon emissions from smallholder oil palm plantations on peatlands have increased every year along with the rate of additional opening of new plantations. The largest carbon emissions occur in the immature plant age class. As the age of oil palm plants increases, the value of peatland carbon emissions tends to decrease, while the value of carbon absorption increases. Mitigation to reduce carbon emissions that can be done is regulating the density of oil palm plants and implementing Legume Cover Crop on immature plants.